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FORCES   MINING   AND 
UNDERMINING  CHINA 


FORGES   MINING   AND 
UNDERMINING  CHINA 


BY 

ROWLAND  R.   GIBSON 

A  Military  Interpreter  in  the  Chinese  Language,  and  formerly 
Chinese  Irispector  under  the  Traiisvaal  Oovemment 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 


\ 


First  published  1914 


THIS    BOOK   IS    DEDICATED   TO 

A  VERY  SMALL  DOT 

IN 

A  VERY   BIG   UNIVERSE 


PREFACE 

In  writing  this  book  I  have  tried  to  be  fair, 
and,  above  all  things,  not  to  allow  myself  to 
be  carried  away  by  national  or  personal  senti- 
ment. 

At  the  same  time,  the  writing  of  unbiassed 
history  is  rendered  doubly  difficult  when  that 
history  is  fizzling  hot,  just  out  of  the  oven, 
and  when  the  chronicler  is  looking  at  the 
picture  with  his  nose  right  up  against  the 
glass. 

Nevertheless,  I  believe  this  book  to  contain 
plain,  unvarnished  facts.  Most  of  these  facts 
are  from  my  personal  observation,  but  where 
this  has  not  been  possible  I  have  quoted  the 
observations  of  such  reliable  authorities  as 
Mr.  Thomas  T.  Read,  Mr.  Percy  Kent,  or  the 
"Far  Eastern  Review." 

Curiously  enough,  as  I  sit  here  correcting 

vii 


PREFACE 

proof-sheets,  a  copy  of  the  "Spectator"  hes 
open  upon  my  desk,  and  without  stretching 
forth  my  hand  to  reach  it  with  a  view  to  care- 
ful perusal  I  can  see  a  portion  of  a  letter 
published  in  that  journal  which  points  to  the 
need  of  some  such  book  as  this. 

That  letter  is  headed  Foreign  Claims 
Against  China,  and  it  is  over  the  signatures 
of  the  Chairman  and  Secretary  of  the  Anglo- 
Chinese  Friendship  Bureau. 

It  refers  to  claims  for  losses  sustained  by 
foreigners  during  the  Revolution  of  1911, 
and  the  portion  of  it  I  can  see  from  afar  reads 
as  follows  : 

"  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  only  explana- 
tion of  the  attitude  adopted  by  the  Powers  is 
a  determination  to  exploit  to  the  uttermost 
China's  admittedly  embarrassed  financial  posi- 
tion. It  is  satisfactory  to  learn  from  a  trust- 
worthy correspondent  that  the  British  claim 
has  hitherto  excluded  all  indirect  losses,  and 
therefore  amounts  to  only  £150,000."  (He 
adds,  however,  that  should  the  other  Powers 
insist  on  including  indirect  losses,  it  is  under- 
stood that  Great  Britain  will  follow  suit,  there- 
by increasing  the  amount  at  present  claimed 
by  upwards  of  £1,000,000.)  "We  under- 
stand  that  America   also   has   attempted   to 

viii 


PREFACE 

make  the  fairest  assessment  possible  of  her 
claims.  .  .  ." 

The  tone  of  this  letter  speaks  for  itself,  but 
it  emphasizes  the  necessity  for  the  two  greatest 
commercial  peoples  co-operating  to  extend 
charity  to  the  distressed,  for  the  two  great 
English-speaking  nations  to  undertake  the 
important  work  which,  as  I  show  in  the  follow- 
ing pages,  lies  before  them. 


Rowland  R.  Gibson. 


London, 
February  16,  1914. 


IX 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAQB 

Introductory      ......         1 


CHAPTER  II 

To  THE  Business  Man  at  Home  ...         8 

CHAPTER  III 
Mining  in  General     .....       82 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Rise  of  the  Kailan  Mining  Administra- 
tion      .......       52 


CHAPTER   V 

China's  Future  Liverpool  ....       77 

CHAPTER   VI 

To  THE  Concession-Hunter  ...       98 

xi 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  VII 

PiLOB 

On  Loaning         ......     116 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Story  of  the  Big  Loan       .         .         .     189 

CHAPTER  IX 
Railways    .......     167 

CHAPTER  X 
Chinese  Labour  Overseas  ....     197 

CHAPTER  XI 
Chinese  Labour  in  China   ....     227 

CHAPTER  XII 
The  Other  Side  of  the  Picture         .         .     243 

CHAPTER  XIII 
Conclusion 272 


xu 


FORCES    MINING    AND 
UNDERMINING   CHINA 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY 

It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  sit  down  to  write 
about  China  when  the  events  of  her  history's 
turning-point  are  scarcely  dry  upon  the  page 
of  Fate.  The  China  of  two  thousand  years 
has  passed  away.  Instead  we  see  a  new- 
born industrial  nation  just  crawling  out  of 
the  barbaric  chrysalis,  just  going  to  take 
its  place  in  an  economic  world.  The  picture 
is  doubtless  welcome  to  some,  especially  to 
those  onlookers  interested  in  China's  de- 
velopment, but  to  the  artist  and  philosopher 
it  probably  brings  regrets.  No  longer  shall 
we  catch  glimpses  of  the  IMiddle  Ages  in 
whispers  of  palace  intrigues.  No  longer  shall 
we  hear  the  screams  of  an  Emperor's  Consort 
being  thrown  down  a  well.  The  Pearl  Con- 
cubine's agonies  are  quieted  for  ever  like 
B  1 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

those  of  the  criminal  who  died  by  one  thousand 
cuts.  In  place  of  these  things  we  faintly  hear 
through  the  echoing  crash  of  the  Ta  Ching 
Dynasty's  fall  the  distant  sound  of  a  factory- 
whistle  calling  its  operatives  to  work.  The 
contrast  is  sudden  indeed.  The  man-power 
of  the  rickshaw  coolie  will  soon  be  giving 
way  to  the  horse-power  of  the  motor.  A 
network  of  steel  and  sleepers  is  about  to  be 
thrown  over  the  land.  No  longer  shall  we 
see  the  still  tropic  stars  except  through  the 
smoke  of  a  blast-furnace  chimney,  and  even 
the  beautiful  bamboo-groves  will  be  shut 
within  a  cage  of  telegraph-wires.  Just  as 
the  London  cab-horse  has  been  replaced  by 
the  "  taxi,"  so  the  camel  of  the  Gobi  desert 
will  soon  be  replaced  by  the  locomotive. 

Property  which  hitherto  has  been  protected 
in  China  by  the  moat  and  city-wall  will  soon 
be  protected  by  the  policeman,  by  the  active 
instead  of  the  passive  force.  The  catalyst 
which  rendered  these  changes  in  China's 
chemistry  possible  was  the  Revolution  of 
1911-12.  It  made  these  changes  possible,  but 
it  is  the  river  of  foreign  gold  now  beginning 
to  flow  into  China's  budding  industries  which 
will  bring  these  changes  to  life. 

About  that  river  of  gold  much  remains  to 
be  said.  It  will  concern  the  subject-matter 
of  this  book  a  very  great  deal,  as  no  doubt  the 
title  already  suggests,   but  like   all  rivers  in 

2 


INTRODUCTORY 

China  it  is  capable  of  bringing  down  dirt 
and  silt  from  without.  It  is  capable  of 
changing  its  course.  And,  last  but  not  least, 
if  not  carefully  attended  to,  it  is  capable  of 
overflowing  its  banks  and  becoming  a  curse 
instead  of  a  blessing.  Foreign  gold  might 
as  easily  become  one  of  the  forces  to  under- 
mine China  as  it  has  been  to  undermine  that 
nation's  belief  in  its  ability  to  exclude  the 
outer  world  by  building  a  big  wall.  To  open 
up  her  distant  provinces  by  railways  China 
requires  money.  She  has  tried  a  hundred 
times  to  secure  this  power  by  inviting  her 
own  people  to  invest  in  Government  under- 
takings. In  not  one  single  case  have  her 
efforts  met  with  success. 

To  open  up  her  mines  she  requires  money, 
but  this  money  can  only  come  from  abroad. 
Hitherto  her  minerals  have  been  very  little 
mined,  though  her  prestige  and  her  national 
character  have  been  undermined  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  they  ought  to  have  been. 
As  a  nation  China  has  been  undermined  by 
an  effete  dynasty,  by  thieving  palace  eunuchs, 
by  corrupt  officials,  by  acquisitive  foreigners, 
and  by  railway  or  mining  companies.  She 
has  in  turn  been  bullied  and  duped  by 
the  strangers  she  sought  to  bully  and  dupe. 
She  has  seen  three  of  her  fairest  provinces 
fought  for  and  sequestrated  by  Russia  and 
Japan.     A    fourth,    Mongolia,    seems    to    be 

3 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

following  along  the  same  path.  She  has  seen 
her  debts  gradually  bank  up  until  they  now 
total  a  colossal  sum  which  will  soon  be  trebled, 
and  yet  her  natural  resources  have  been  prac- 
tically unmined. 

A  variety  of  causes  has  contributed  to  this 
result.  Some  have  a  purely  Chinese  origin 
and  spring  from  ignorant  superstition  or  from 
ancestor- worship. 

His  religious  or  superstitious  fears  have 
frequently  made  John  Chinaman  unwilling  to 
disturb  a  grave  or  to  liberate  the  hidden 
spirits  of  the  earth.  Others  are  due  to  natural 
distrust  which  always  bars  the  way  to  inter- 
course between  alien  races  knowing  very 
little  of  one  another,  and  more  particularly 
does  this  great  gulf  lie  between  the  people 
of  East  and  West.  A  host  of  other  causes 
such  as  lack  of  transportation  facilities, 
political  disturbances,  obstinate  officials,  in- 
elastic regulations,  and  so  on  might  be  cited, 
but  we  are  going  to  consider  the  forces  which 
are  mining  China  rather  than  the  reasons  which 
have  left  her  so  little  mined. 

These  forces  include  loans,  railways,  labour, 
and  one  or  two  big  coal-mining  companies. 
Gold,  silver,  iron,  copper,  oil,  tin,  and  lead 
have  been  obtained  in  such  small  quantities 
that  they  do  not  lend  themselves  here  to 
serious  mining  consideration.  They  have 
chiefly     been     worked     by     primitive    native 

4 


INTRODUCTORY 

methods  which  do  not  produce  large  outputs 
and  which  have  not  yet  attained  the  dimen- 
sions of  a  force.  Coal-mining  alone  can  be 
said  to  have  reached  that  pitch. 

As  regards  the  forces  undermining  China 
we  shall  have  to  deal  with  such  dissimilar 
quantities  as  diplomats,  human  nature,  Chi- 
nese officialdom,  and  many  minor  ingredients. 
Out  of  these  ingredients  the  writer  hopes  to 
serve  up  a  readable  book.  It  is  not  going 
to  be  a  highly  technical,  highly  scientific 
treatise  on  coal,  and  doubtless  it  may  have 
its  imperfections,  but  if  the  British  public 
would  understand  what  is  likely  to  happen 
in  China  on  a  big  scale  they  must  follow  the 
evolution  of  the  leading  Chinese  coal-mining 
power  through  its  past. 

That  story  will  serve  as  a  map.  On  it 
will  be  found  three-fourths  of  China's  modern 
history  not  only  where  coal-mining  is  con- 
cerned, but  also  where  intercourse  with  for- 
eigners is  concerned. 

Mr.  Percy  Kent  in  his  excellent  book  on 
Chinese  railway  enterprise  justly  claimed  that 
the  history  of  modern  politics  in  China  is 
reflected  in  the  history  of  her  railway  de- 
velopments. His  claim  is  perfectly  correct, 
but  the  present  writer  claims  more.  He 
claims  to  show  how  industrial  progress  will 
overtake  the  country  collectively  in  exactly 
the  same  way  it  has  overtaken  a  private  coal- 

5 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

mining  company,  despite  official  obstruction  and 
inherent  Chinese  weaknesses.  Though  to-day 
the  whole  world  is  pessimistic  about  China's 
future  outlook,  there  is  truly  no  need  for 
pessimism  to  wield  such  sway.  The  whole 
world's  opinion  is  really  only  the  opinion  of 
a  few.  Those  few  see  bankruptcy  staring 
China  in  the  face,  and  they  wring  their  hands 
accordingly.  They  are  perfectly  right  to  pro- 
phesy bankruptcy.  But  they  are  perfectly 
wrong  to  wring  their  hands.  They  ought  to 
try  to  see  through  the  bankruptcy  to  some- 
thing much  grander  beyond.  Can  they  not 
pierce  the  veil  of  revolution  and  evolution 
which  hangs  before  their  eyes  ?  Can  they 
not  see  flourishing  industries  and  mining 
activities  beyond  ? 

Already  these  mining  activities  have  played 
not  a  little  part  in  China's  incipient  regenera- 
tion. But  the  part  they  are  going  to  play 
will  be  a  bigger  part  still.  Their  influence 
will  affect  China  internally  as  well  as  ex- 
ternally. Every  indentured  coolie  that  shall 
leave  her  shores  for  Borneo  or  the  Belgian 
Congo  will  help  to  circulate  ideas  as  he  will 
help  to  circulate  money.  Every  modern  shaft 
that  shall  be  blasted  into  her  coal-beds  will 
cause  China's  rising  sun  to  fling  out  one 
more  shaft  of  enlightenment  to  pierce  the 
mists  of  prejudice.  Old  clouds  of  obstruction 
are  slowly  rolling  away  as  we  stand  watching 

6 


INTRODUCTORY 

this  sunrise.  We  watch  it  with  pleasure 
because  it  is  grand.  As  its  rosy  tints  mount 
upwards  to  the  skies,  we  recognize  it  as  some- 
thing more  than  a  new  poHtical  dawn.  We 
recognize  it  as  one  of  God's  pictures. 


CHAPTER    II 

TO   THE    BUSINESS    MAN   AT   HOME 

Whilst  the  rim  of  China's  industrial  sun  is 
rising  above  the  horizon,  we  remark  that  the 
"  Treaty-port "  stage  has  already  gone  by. 
By  this  term  we  mean  the  period  when  great 
fortunes  were  only  built  up  by  Hong  Kong 
and  Shanghai  firms  through  trading  in  opium 
or  manufactured  articles  or  tea  or  silk.  At 
this  period  Chinese  intercourse  with  foreign 
traders  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  British, 
and  the  reason  was  the  almost  exclusive 
monopoly  of  the  China  coast  markets  enjoyed 
by  the  British  mercantile  marine. 

It  is  only  since  1858  that  this  period  can  be 
said  to  date.  After  the  treaty  of  Tientsin 
the  foreigner  attained  a  status  in  China  he 
had  never  been  allowed  to  possess  before. 
His  position  had  been  acquired  by  force,  but 
that  made  it  none  the  less  real,  and  from  that 
date  onwards  until  the  Revolution  of  1911-12 
Chino-foreign  relations  have  been  marked  by 
one  long  struggle.  On  the  part  of  England 
and  America  trade,   not  territory,   has  been 

8 


TO  THE  BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

the  objective  in  forcing  an  entrance  to  China's 
closed  doors.  On  the  part  of  Russia,  France, 
and  Germany  territory  plus  trade  has  been 
the  objective.  But  China  has  consistently 
tried  to  exclude  the  foreigner  through  all  these 
many  years,  whether  he  frankly  came  to  steal 
her  provinces,  or  whether  her  officials  imagined 
he  wished  to  acquire  some  other  form  of  wealth 
which  the  Chinese  claimed  for  themselves. 

Owing  to  this  attitude,  national  industry 
has  been  retarded  and  China's  development 
has  been  sadly  kept  back. 

Certain  Anglo-Chinese  nabob  families 
amassed  great  wealth  during  the  early  days 
of  this  bygone  "  Treaty-port "  stage,  and 
perhaps  the  best  known  name  amongst  them 
is  that  of  Jardine.  The  name  still  represents 
great  power  up  and  down  the  China  coast. 
Younger  members  of  the  family  still  occupy 
prominent  positions  in  the  "  Princely  House," 
but  the  days  of  Anglo-Chinese  nabobism  are 
over.     Since   1894  a  new  era  has   sprung  up. 

A  period  of  competition  instead  of  monopoly 
has  appeared,  and  this  competition  for  Chinese 
trade  comes  no  longer  from  brothers  of  the 
British  race,  but  from  fellow- creatures  of 
almost  every  nationality  under  the  sun. 

It  is  only  since  the  Chino-Japanese  War 
that  this  new  competitive  period  can  be  said 
to  date.  Evidence  of  it  can  be  found  in 
almost  every  modern  book  dealing  with  Chinese 

9 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

affairs.  It  has  been  an  international  struggle 
to  get  territory  and  money  by  hook  or  by 
crook.  In  some  cases  both  territory  and 
money  have  been  sought  through  a  port  like 
Kiaochao.  In  other  cases  an  indemnity  has 
been  demanded  at  a  time  of  crisis  like  the 
Boxer  outbreak.  France  and  Germany  have 
shown  that  a  missionary's  murder  is  sufficient 
excuse  for  a  Christian  government  to  begin 
filibustering.  Russia  and  Japan  have  some- 
times moved  onwards  without  even  that 
excuse. 

At  times  these  vulture-like  nations  have 
actually  quarrelled  over  the  Chinese  carcass 
before  life  was  extinct.  Vide  Russia,  France, 
and  Germany  driving  Japan  out  of  Port 
Arthur  after  she  had  seized  it  under  title  of 
a  right  of  conquest.  But  since  those  days 
international  ideas  about  China's  dismember- 
ment have  undergone  something  of  a  change. 
The  partition  of  China  is  no  longer  talked 
about.  Foreign  nations  are  now  preparing 
to  conquer  by  money  rather  than  by  the 
sword,  and  a  very  interesting  period  has  just 
dawned. 

So  long  as  the  old  Empress  Dowager  sat 
upon  the  Dragon  throne  there  could  be  no 
hope  of  really  putting  the  torch  to  antiquated 
Chinese  methods.  So  long  as  the  Big  Loan 
of  1913  remained  in  suspense  there  could  be 
no  hope   of  reconstructing   China  even   after 

10 


TO  THE  BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

the  Manchu  Dynasty  had  been  swept  away. 
But  on  April  27th,  1913,  everything  began  to 
assume  a  very  different  complexion.  The 
period  of  conquest  by  foreign  money  was 
begun,  and  in  course  of  time  we  may  hope 
to  see  a  prosperous  China  under  joint  Chino- 
foreign  management.  But  we  must  not  race 
along  too  fast.  We  must  go  back  to  Sep- 
tember 1912,  when  the  Crisp  Loan  negotia- 
tions created  such  a  stir  both  in  England 
and  in  Europe  generally.  Here  was  a  strange 
situation  :  financiers  divided  against  them- 
selves and  the  British  Minister  at  Peking 
ordering  Mr.  Crisp  off  the  field.  No  wonder 
big  business  men  looked  up  from  their  ledgers 
and  scratched  their  heads.  No  wonder  China 
came  once  again  into  the  public  eye. 

"  Here  was  a  strange  situation  !  "  Strange 
it  undoubtedly  was  ;  but  how  could  English- 
men in  London  or  in  Manchester  know  that 
China  was  "  undermined  "  ?  They  doubtless 
were  far  too  busy  to  realize  that  any  funda- 
mental differences  existed  between  Peking 
and  an  English  city  beyond  the  possible  sight 
of  an  occasional  pig-tail.  But  here  was  some- 
thing new,  and  this  new  situation  set  them 
thinking. 

Their  thoughts  gave  rein  to  the  imagination 
which  business  so  frequently  curbs.  They 
saw  new  markets.  They  saw  letters  con- 
taining f.o.b.  estimates  for  machinery  or  piece- 

11 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

goods  or  cutlery  being  sent  off  on  their  long 
journey  across  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway. 
They  saw  Chinese  letters  coming  back  a  little 
while  later  to  accept  their  quotations.  They 
saw  busy  ships  being  loaded  with  their  mer- 
chandise, and  bills  of  exchange  coming  in  by 
dozens  to  pay  for  the  articles  sent. 

In  a  word,  the  sunrise,  the  same  sunrise 
which  we  have  been  watching,  shed  the  full 
brilliancy  of  its  light  upon  their  thoughts. 
The  interest  of  commercial  England  was 
stimulated. 

The  interest  of  engineering  England  took 
definite  form  and  shape.  The  British 
Engineers'  Association  came  together.  They 
called  meetings  at  Sheffield  and  at  other 
places.  They  got  into  touch  with  an  English- 
man, Captain  Fitz  Hugh,  who  had  spent 
some  little  time  in  North  China  ;  they  made 
him  their  first  Chief  Commissioner ;  and 
they  sent  him  back  to  Peking  with  instructions 
to  do  the  work  which  British  Government 
officials  could  never  be  expected  to  do  efficiently 
owing  to  their  exaggerated  fear  of  offending 
other  interests.  In  fact  these  keen  business- 
like engineers  had  just  a  slight  idea  that 
China  was  "  undermined,"  and  they  wanted 
to  find  out  why.  They  wanted  a  picture  of 
things  as  they  are  in  China,  not  as  they  were 
a  couple  of  years  ago. 

Their    action    was    interesting,    because    it 
12 


TO  THE  BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

betokened  a  newly-interested  uneasiness,  if 
it  was  not  a  new  uneasiness.  It  could  not 
have  been  a  new  uneasiness,  because  some 
business  men  had  already  shown  they  were 
uneasy  about  the  care  of  their  interests  by 
officials.  In  1910  we  find  evidence  of  this 
among  the  leading  British  commercial  bodies 
which  deplored  the  sacrifice  of  British  interests 
to  diplomatic  adventure.  This  sentiment  was 
particularly  brought  out  by  the  China  Associa- 
tion's action  in  filing  a  protest  with  the 
Foreign  Office  against  the  sacrifice  of  certain 
British  contractors'  interests  by  the  continued 
deference  of  the  British  Government  to  the 
wishes  of  Russia  and  Japan  upon  the  subject 
of  constructing  the  Chinchow-Aigun  Railway. 
It  was  plain  enough  to  everybody  why  Russia 
and  Japan  objected  to  this  railway  being 
built. 

These  countries  looked  upon  Mongolia  and 
Manchuria  as  their  own  particular  prizes. 
But  the  Association  claimed  that  this  line 
was  a  purely  Chinese  undertaking,  and  did 
not  conflict  with  the  Anglo-Russian  agree- 
ment. Copies  of  their  protest  were  sent  to 
twenty  British  Chambers  of  Commerce,  with 
the  result  that  several  of  these  gave  it  their 
unqualified  support.  After  all,  it  is  extremely 
difficult  for  a  government  official  to  see 
things  from  a  business  man's  point  of  view. 
In  Peking  particularly  there  is  less  likelihood 

13 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

of  due  care  being  given  to  trade  than  any- 
where. Most  officials  are  rather  "  gilded " 
and  "  heaven-born  "  in  their  ideas,  and  when 
they  form  the  entire  community  of  any  place 
this  idea  of  their  singular  importance  crystal- 
lizes. 

Besides  this,  Peking  is  a  regular  cock-pit 
for  diplomacy.  Every  foreign  minister  is 
busy  trying  to  get  this  or  that  fellow-country- 
man into  that  or  this  billet.  China  is  simply 
cursed  with  foreign  employees. 

If  that  nation  is  given  an  inch  here,  this 
nation  wants  an  ell  there.  Englishmen  have 
been  put  at  the  head  of  the  Customs  and  the 
Salt  Gabelle  ;  Danes  manage  the  telephones ; 
the  French  have  the  post-office ;  the  Rus- 
sians something  else. 

As  regards  advisers,  we  find  Dr.  Morrison, 
Colonel  Brissaud  des  Maillets,  Dr.  Ariga,  and 
a  host  of  others.  These  gentlemen  are,  doubt- 
less, excellent  men  in  every  respect,  but 
each  of  their  posts  is  a  very  highly-paid  one, 
and  each  of  their  posts  becomes  a  battle- 
ground for  diplomats,  whether  it  be  vacant 
or  filled.  If  it  be  filled  some  foreign  minister 
will  try  to  empty  it.  If  it  be  empty  all 
foreign  ministers  will  try  to  fill  it. 

This  state  of  affairs  has  the  effect  of  pre- 
venting commercial  matters  receiving  atten- 
tion on  their  purely  commercial  merits.  Un- 
less they  are  tacked  on  to  some  political  con- 

14 


TO   THE  BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

cession  to  be  filched  from  China,  diplomacy 
seems  to  let  them  slide.  This  may  be  either 
because  diplomats  do  not  understand  com- 
merce, or  because  they  look  upon  commerce 
as  a  means  to  diplomacy,  rather  than  diplo- 
macy as  a  means  to  commerce.  This  state 
of  affairs  also  helps  to  undermine  China. 

If  a  certain  nation  secures  the  appointment 
of  one  of  its  sons  to  advise  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment, some  other  nation  instantly  demands 
the  appointment  of  two  more.  Although 
China  is  weak  financially,  she  hardly  dare 
refuse  these  demands.  At  the  same  time 
she  can  hardly  afford  to  spend  so  much 
money  on  advisers'  salaries  when  their  advice 
is  worth  so  little  to  her.  In  most  cases  these 
men  are  appointed  not  because  China  needs 
them,  but  because  European  nations  tell  her 
she  needs  them. 

Look,  if  you  will,  at  the  list  of  instructors 
to  the  Chinese  army.  You  will  see  it  is 
chiefly  a  list  of  French  names.  There  is  not 
one  single  English  one  amongst  them.  Of 
course  England  has  no  complaint  on  that 
score,  for  her  sons  fill  so  many  other  Chinese 
appointments.  But  it  is  instructive  to  know 
that  the  Chinese  military  instructorships  have 
been  practically  ear-marked  as  belonging  to 
France. 

Formerly  China  employed  Germans  and 
Japanese    almost    exclusively,     but    in    1912 

15 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Yuan  Shih  Kai  appointed  a  Frenchman, 
Colonel  Brissaud  des  Maillets,  to  be  his  mili- 
tary adviser.  He  continued,  of  course,  to 
employ  the  Japanese  Colonel  Banzai  who 
had  been  attached  to  him  while  in  office  for 
some  fifteen  years  past.  He  also  continued 
to  employ,  but  in  better  positions,  two  Ger- 
man officers — Bleihofer  and  Dinckelman.  He 
has  since  approved  of  the  Minister  of  War 
appointing  another  French  officer  and  one  or 
two  French  aviation  instructors. 

Quite  recently  a  German,  who  had  been 
fifteen  years  in  the  service  of  the  Chinese, 
and  whose  contract  had  expired,  asked  for 
re-employment.  His  name  was  Captain  Fuchs, 
He  was  a  survey  expert,  who  had  invented  a 
method  of  rapid  survey,  which  had  been 
adopted  by  the  German  army,  and  there 
were  special  reasons  why  he  should  have 
been  appointed,  but  the  French  Legation 
immediately  demanded  that  three  other  French 
men  should  be  given  posts  if  he  were.  Ac- 
cordingly neither  Fuchs  nor  the  Frenchmen 
were  accepted. 

There  is  no  Englishman  employed  in  the 
Chinese  army,  although  it  is  not  from  want 
of  applicants.  Probably  more  than  thirty 
English  officers — even  of  such  high  rank  as 
Lieutenant-General  and  Major-General  and 
several  Colonels,  some  with  long  experience 
of  China — have  applied  for  appointments,  but 

16 


TO  THE  BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

because  of  their  nationality  they  have  not 
been  successful. 

There  was  a  suggestion,  which  may  or 
may  not  reach  the  stage  of  fact,  that  China's 
army  should  be  re- organized  by  Germans. 
The  idea  serves  to  show  the  close  co-operation 
between  the  German  Government  and  private 
enterprise,  and  it  demands  careful  watching 
for  that  reason  alone.  According  to  the  Press 
announcements  a  scheme  was  semi-arranged 
to  put  a  German  Lieutenant-General  with  a 
staff  of  six  officers  in  Peking.  Under  their 
orders  were  to  be  six  hundred  other  German 
officers  scattered  throughout  the  various  pro- 
vinces, instructing  Chinese  troops.  The  scheme 
was  reported  to  be  going  to  cost  4,000,000 
marks,  and  the  firm  of  Krupp  was  said  to  be 
furnishing  one-quarter  of  this  sum.  Great 
opposition  would  necessarily  be  encountered 
before  such  a  scheme  could  be  brought  about, 
but  money  judiciously  employed  can  do  many 
things  in  China. 

A  comprehensive  instruction  system  of  this 
sort  might  easily  do  more  than  train  Chinese 
recruits.  It  might  give  the  German  Govern- 
ment a  great  deal  more  Chinese  influence 
than  British  business  firms  would  quite  relish. 
But,  as  mentioned  above,  this  scheme  will 
probably  not  crystallize,  so  there  is  little  need 
for  anxiety  at  present. 

These  things  show  how  China's  money  is 
c  17 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

squabbled  for  by  rival  nations  which  talk 
loudly  of  serving  her.  They  show,  in  fact, 
that  she  is  partly  undermined  by  foreigners. 
When  we  reach  the  chapter  upon  the  "Big 
Loan,"  we  shall  see  to  what  extent  foreigners 
are  responsible  for  this. 

If  business  men  in  England  had  some  sus- 
picion of  these  Peking  aflairs,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  they  bestirred  themselves  to  look 
after  their  own  interests.  The  engineers  told 
their  new  Chief  Commissioner  to  report  on 
local  conditions,  to  make  recommendations, 
to  get  into  touch  with  Chinese  officials,  to 
point  out  any  industrial  opportunities  which 
might  be  offering,  and  to  prevent  British 
manufacturers,  unacquainted  with  China,  from 
making  the  mistakes  which  ignorance  of  that 
country  would  otherwise  bring  upon  their 
attempts  to  capture  new  Chinese  markets. 

If  China  was  being  undermined  either  by 
foreigners,  or  by  corrupt  practices,  or  by  semi- 
political  concessions  being  extorted  through 
force,  these  gentlemen  wished  to  know  the 
facts.  They  did  not  require  to  be  told  how 
many  millions  of  cigarettes  passed  the  Customs 
last  year,  or  how  many  tons  of  beans  were 
exported  from  Dalny  or  from  Newchwang. 

In  any  geographical  reference-book  the  main 
facts  about  imports  and  exports  can  be  looked 
out.  Everybody  knows  that  beans,  hides, 
lumber,    and    skins    are    exported    from    the 

18 


TO  THE   BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

north,  while  tea  and  silk  are  shipped  from 
Southern  and  Central  China.  What  everybody 
does  not  know  is  why  such  and  such  a  British 
firm,  after  tendering  for  some  big  contract, 
sees  that  contract  given  to  Austrian  or  German 
rivals,  when  those  rivals  have  quoted  a 
higher  figure  for  the  undertaking. 

The  British  manufacturer  is  perplexed  and 
annoyed  when  such  amazing  things  happen. 
He  cannot  picture  to  himself  conditions  he 
has  never  seen,  and  probably  he  puts  it  all 
down  to  government  subsidies  enjoyed  by 
his  continental  rival. 

In  point  of  fact  government  support,  al- 
though in  some  cases  it  exists,  is  not  the 
only  cause  of  contracts  going  past  Great 
Britain,  nor  is  it  indeed  the  main  cause. 
Everybody  who  has  studied  the  question 
knows  there  is  much  to  be  said  both  for  and 
against  government  subsidizing,  but  perhaps 
when  it  is  a  question  of  opening  up  a  country 
like  China  and  securing  great  initial  advan- 
tages, a  government  subsidy  is  a  very  useful 
thing.  No,  the  main  cause  is  that  continental 
rivals  are  less  scrupulous  in  what  they  promise 
and  more  careful  to  give  bribes. 

This  may  be  a  blunt  and  ugly  thing  to  say, 
but  because  bribery  is  condemned  in  England, 
it  will  not  alter  conditions  as  they  exist  and 
have  existed  for  centuries  in  China.  What 
Walpole  said  about  the  politicians  of  his  time 

19 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

might  be  said  with  even  greater  truth  of 
John  Chinaman  :  "  Every  man  has  his  price," 
and  in  China  nothing  will  be  done  unless  that 
price  is  paid.  The  continental  manufacturer 
pays  his  bribe  and  offers  his  tender.  The 
British  manufacturer  offers  his  tender  but 
forgets  his  bribe.  John  Chinaman  looks  at 
the  bribe  and  not  at  the  tender.  But  he 
only  gives  contracts  to  men  who  give  bribes. 
That  habit  is  just  as  much  part  of  his  nature 
as  was  the  baker's  in  "  The  Hunting  of  the 
Snark,"  only  to  cook  bride-cake,  or  the 
butcher's  only  to  kill  beavers. 

A  distinguished  English  globe-trotter  with 
whom  the  writer  was  discussing  this  subject 
of  bribes  one  day  made  the  remark,  "  Ah, 
yes,  but  all  that  will  soon  be  changed.  We 
must  educate  the  Chinese  up  to  proper 
methods."  Of  course  the  writer  smiled.  The 
speaker  had  proclaimed  his  ignorance  of  the 
Chinese  nation  in  just  those  few  words.  No 
nation  on  earth  is  so  tenacious  of  its  customs 
as  the  Chinese,  and  nothing  short  of  half  a 
century's  training  on  the  strictest  lines  can 
alter  them  in  this  respect.  The  reason  is 
perfectly  obvious.  The  Chinese  are  not  a 
military  people — they  are  a  mercantile  people 
born  and  bred.  With  them  trading  instincts 
are  absolutely  ingrained,  and  every  transaction 
which  passes  through  their  hands  must  leave 
its  trace  of  personal  profit  lying  on  their  hands. 

20 


TO   THE   BUSINESS   MAN  AT  HOME 

They  never  stop  to  ask  themselves  whether 
somebody  else's  code  of  morals  approves  or 
disapproves  of  this  particular  trait  in  their 
character.  They  simply  say  to  themselves, 
"  Oh,  well,  if  there  is  no  profit  in  this  little 
game,  we  will  not  play  at  this  little  game," 
and  there  the  matter  ends  until  the  wheels 
are  greased.  This  point  requires  no  ampli- 
fication. It  is  so  very  obvious  that  everybody 
in  England  must  have  heard  of  it,  though 
they  sometimes  forget  it.  What  Englishmen 
should  remember  is  that  they  must  consider 
the  Chinese  world  as  it  is,  not  as  it  ought 
to  be. 

As  regards  the  other  point  about  continental 
rivals  promising  more  than  they  can  perform. 
In  any  other  country  in  the  world  this  would 
be  bad  business,  and  would  lead  to  financial 
loss,  but  in  China  it  pays  remarkably  well. 
It  enables  gentlemen  from  Brussels  or  Paris 
to  snatch  contracts  out  of  British  hands. 

The  reason  is  easy  to  follow  :  it  is  due  to 
the  Chinaman's  peculiar  sensitiveness  to  "  sav- 
ing his  face."  If  a  Chinese  Minister  of  State 
can  appear  to  have  made  a  good  bargain,  he 
need  anticipate  no  opposition  from  the  country 
or  from  the  National  Assembly.  He  even 
seems  willing  to  deceive  himself. 

Once  a  contract  or  concession  is  obtained 
it  is  simply  a  question  of  getting  its  conditions 
altered.     This  rests  upon  diplomatic  pressure 

21 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

being  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Peking  Govern- 
ment. It  is  wiser  in  China  to  get  some  sort  of  con- 
cession, and  then  to  have  it  altered  afterwards, 
than  not  to  get  it,  and  see  it  given  to  some- 
body else.  At  any  rate,  most  continental 
agents  at  Peking  believe  in  business  of  this 
nature.  It  may  be  simpler  for  them  to  exert 
the  necessary  diplomatic  pressure  which  turns 
an  unprofitable  contract  into  a  profitable  one. 
A  British  official  might  not  care  to  exert  pres- 
sure under  such  circumstances  unless  pressure 
were  first  put  upon  himself. 

A  splendid  example  of  this  sort  of  thing  is 
offered  by  the  Kinhan  Railway.  Before  it 
was  built  an  American  syndicate  sought  the 
concession  to  build  it.  They  were,  however, 
utterly  underbidden  by  a  Belgian  and  French 
combination  which  was  helped  by  the  Russian 
Bank.  Of  course  the  terms  offered  were 
found  impossible  after  the  concession  had 
been  obtained,  and  representations  had  to  be 
made  by  the  Belgian  Minister,  backed  up 
by  Russia  and  France,  to  secure  modified 
terms.  The  diplomatic  pressure  may  have 
been  assisted  by  a  little  "  palm-greasing." 
That  we  do  not  know.  But  it  was  quite 
successful,  and  the  line  was  eventually  built. 
In  this  case  the  contract  was  lost  to  America. 
In  other  cases  contracts  of  a  similar  nature 
have  gone  past  Great  Britain. 

On    the    other   hand,    a    well-known    chief 
22 


TO  THE  BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

engineer  of  a  Chinese  Government  railway 
once  informed  the  writer  that  he  never  could 
rely  upon  British  manufacturers  for  delivery 
of  locomotives  when  he  ordered  them  in 
England.  In  consequence  he  usually  placed 
half  his  orders  in  America,  where  the  engines 
were  not  so  good,  but  whence  he  could  get 
them  quickly.  He  added,  "  Before  long  I 
shall  be  sending  all  my  orders  to  America, 
because  I  cannot  wait  upon  British  manu- 
facturers." 

Doubtless  British  manufacturers  are  not 
to  be  blamed  if  their  hands  are  too  full  of 
work  at  home,  at  any  given  moment,  to 
undertake  big  contracts  in  so  far-off  a  field 
as  China.  But  is  it  not  possible  for  some 
sort  of  co-operation  to  exist  between  great 
British  firms  ?  When,  for  instance,  they  are 
not  actually  underbidding  one  another  for  a 
contract,  is  it  not  possible  for  one  great  firm 
to  pass  an  order,  or  part  of  an  order,  on  to 
some  other  British  firm  rather  than  see  the 
order,  together  with  all  future  orders  from 
the  same  source,  going  to  Germany  or  Bel- 
gium ?  To  a  small  extent  this  is  done,  but 
can  the  idea  not  assume  a  national  importance  ? 
Surely  such  a  system  would  not  entail  a  great 
expenditure  of  money  ?  It  would  only  re- 
quire an  association  of  all  the  firms  engaged 
in  a  certain  trade  with  a  central  office  and  a 
small    staff.     Any    firm    which    received    an 

23 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

order  beyond  its  ability  to  fulfil  would  im- 
mediately hand  on  the  portion  beyond  its 
powers,  to  be  undertaken  by  some  other  firm. 
The  business  world  has  reached  a  point  far 
beyond  monopoly.  It  has  now  become  a 
world  of  rings,  trusts,  and  competitions.  In 
such  a  world  nothing  can  be  done  without 
strenuous  organization. 

During  the  last  half  century  the  only  two 
nations  which  have  sprung  from  obscurity 
into  first-class  Powers  have  been  Germany  and 
Japan.  In  both  cases  they  owe  their  rise  to 
a  high  organization.  This  does  not  mean  an 
organization  solely  for  their  armies  in  the 
field.  It  means  the  encouragement  of  a  very 
close  relationship  between  the  central  govern- 
ment and  national  activity. 

In  each  case  they  first  organized  their 
forces  for  a  war  of  arms.  They  prepared 
themselves  for  that  object,  organized  every 
detail,  secured  information  about  their  op- 
ponents, worked  out  their  plans  of  campaign 
beforehand,  and  then  struck.  In  both  cases 
they  were  successful  and  secured  a  better 
"  social  standing  "  amongst  the  nations.  The 
next  phase  was  to  be  a  war  of  commerce,  and 
each  nation  forthwith  began  concentrating 
all  its  national  energies  upon  the  object  in 
view.  The  process  was  similar  in  every  respect 
to  ^^ the  war  of  arms,  except  that  instead  of 
Army  Corps  I.,    Army  Corps  II.,  and  so  on 

24 


TO   THE   BUSINESS   MAN  AT  HOME 


we  see  them  substituting  banks,  railways, 
and  shipping  companies.  The  central  govern- 
ment and  the  national  plan  of  campaign 
remain  constant  quantities. 

Now  what  is  the  result  ?  The  commercial 
armies  of  England  and  America  are  being 
beaten  in  battle  after  battle  just  as  the  French 
and  the  Russians  were  beaten  at  Sedan  and 
Liaoyang.  It  is  not  a  question  of  free  trade 
or  tariff  reform — it  is  a  question  of  organization 
pure  and  simple. 

Where  the  Russians  lost  in  men,  material, 
and  prestige,  America  is  losing  in  drills, 
jeans,  and  sheetings.  In  this  case  the  battle- 
ground is  Manchuria  just  the  same.  Vide 
the  following  table  of  import  statistics,  which 
have  been  copied  out  of  "  The  Far  Eastern 
Review  "  : 


DrUIs. 

Jeans. 

Sheetings. 

American  . 
Japanese   . 
British 

1909. 

319,428 

114,814 

12,359 

1910. 

186,698 

252,342 

6,750 

1909. 

98,111 

278,258 

B 

1910. 
3,968 

323,246 

1909. 

706,735 

261,743 

69,953 

1910. 

378,121 

694,574 

15,231 

The  same  thing  is  happening  in  Europe, 
in  India,  and  in  South  America,  where  the 
commercial  armies  of  Great  Britain  and  Ger- 
many are  chiefly  fighting.  The  end,  of  course, 
will  be  just  the  same  whether  the  British 
Government  chooses  to  recognize  it  or  not. 
Organization  alone  can  give  the  victory.     If 

25 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

the  British  Government  can  bring  about 
united  action  between  its  financial,  transport- 
ing, and  commercial  forces,  then  and  then 
only  will  Great  Britain  win. 

Hitherto  trade  relations  of  every  kind  be- 
tween Chinese  firms  and  foreign  firms  oversea 
have  had  to  be  carried  on  through  a  foreign 
middleman  or  trading  house.  This  is  due  to 
a  twofold  reason  :  it  would  take  a  long  time 
for  a  sound  mutual  confidence  to  be  estab- 
lished when  the  Chinese  merchant  only  knows 
his  Chinese  conditions,  and  the  foreign  concern 
knows  of  no  other  environment  except  its 
own.  In  addition  to  this,  there  are  extremely 
few  Chinese  even  now  who  could  properly 
cope  with  all  the  correspondence  which  passes 
between  business  houses  engaged  in  important 
transactions  with  one  another. 

For  these  two  reasons  alone,  business  of 
any  sort  between  Great  Britain  and  China 
will  have  to  be  carried  on  through  an  agent 
for  many  years  to  come.  The  Chinese  do  not 
entirely  like  it.  They  feel  it  burdensome 
and  oppressive,  especially  at  the  Treaty  ports, 
but  at  present  there  is  no  alternative.  The 
foreign  agent  knows  both  European  and 
Chinese  conditions.  He  fulfils  orders  with- 
out demur,  and  above  all  he  keeps  in  very 
close  touch  with  exchange.  But  it  must  not 
be  supposed  that  the  foreign  middleman  is 
always  immaculate.     He  is  sometimes  very  far 

26 


TO   THE   BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

from  it.  His  idea  very  frequently  is  to  get 
rich  quickly  and  squeeze  as  much  money  out 
of  John  Chinaman  as  he  can.  The  foreign 
middleman  often  contributes  more  than  his 
share  towards  China's  undermining. 

If  John  Chinaman  wants  an  electrical  gener- 
ating plant  for  his  coal-mines,  or  a  weigh- 
bridge, or  some  boilers,  he  can  only  procure 
these  things  from  abroad,  and  he  has  to 
employ  the  middleman  to  buy  them  for  him. 
What  is  the  result  ?  The  middleman  goes  to 
the  British  or  continental  manufacturer  and 
gets  a  very  good  commission  from  both  buyer 
and  seller  alike.  In  his  own  interests  he 
buys  the  most  expensive  plant,  regardless  of 
requirements,  when  a  very  much  cheaper 
plant  would  often  suit  better.  In  many 
cases  the  European  agent  knows  full  well  that 
the  machinery  will  never  be  used  by  its 
Chinese  purchaser  at  all.  But  what  does  its 
unsuitability  matter  to  him,  provided  the 
price  be  high  ?  That  is  what  he  thinks  im- 
portant, because  it  means  more  commission 
into  his  own  pocket.  If  the  Chinese  firm 
complains,  the  backwardness  of  the  Chinese 
engineer  will  be  blamed,  but  the  agent  insists 
upon  getting  his  twenty  or  thirty  thousand 
dollars  nevertheless. 

Most  residents  in  China  must  have  seen 
expensive  machinery  simply  flung  aside  in  a 
Chinese  courtyard  to  rot,  for  no  other  reason 

27 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

except  that  the  Chinese  buyer  has  been  under- 
mined by  the  middleman. 

In  some  cases,  of  course,  a  Chinese  is  also 
in  this  crooked  deal.  If  he  be  a  mighty 
official,  he  may  say,  "  Oh,  yes,  buy  me  three 
torpedo-boat  destroyers  and  charge  £450,000 
for  the  lot.  They  will  cost  you  about  £300,000, 
and  I  happen  to  want  £100,000,  so  if  you 
like  to  give  me  a  cheque  for  that  sum,  you 
may  have  the  contract  for  supplying  these 
nice  little  ships."  With  a  smile  he  may 
possibly  add,  "  Between  ourselves,  I  don't 
think  China  really  needs  them."  In  this  way 
China  is  undermined  again. 

On  the  other  hand  it  is  sometimes  amusing 
to  see  how  cleverly  John  Chinaman  may  use 
foreigners  for  his  own  purposes,  when  he  gets 
a  suitable  opportunity. 

An  example  of  this  was  given  by  a  friend 
to  the  author,  and  it  may  be  instanced  here 
as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  narrator's  own 
words. 

"  I  was  once  at  a  wayside  station,  wayside 
in  so  far  as  foreigners  are  usually  concerned, 
because  it  was  the  station  of  a  grain  centre 
or  market-town  some  300  miles  from  Peking. 
I  had  gone  up  there  to  buy  grain  for  some 
mules,  and  I  found  only  two  white  men 
living  there.  These  two  white  men  were 
employed  upon  the  railway,  under  the  terms 
of  agreement  between  the  Chinese  Government 

28 


TO   THE   BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

and  the  European  bond-holders.  I  found 
them  both  very  nice  fellows,  and  both  were 
very  busy  with  plenty  of  work  to  do.  But  one 
day  I  happened  to  stroll  along  the  platform, 
and  met  a  young  Chinese  man  in  uniform 
who  seemed  to  have  plenty  of  time  on  his 
hands.  I  spoke  to  him  in  Chinese,  asking  him 
what  work  he  did,  and  he  replied  that  he  was 
a  station-master.  He  then  went  away,  and 
I  met  another  young  man,  similarly  dressed 
in  uniform,  with,  apparently,  a  similar  amount 
of  leisure- time  at  his  disposal.  To  my  as- 
tonishment he,  too,  informed  me  that  he 
was  a  station-master.  I  began  to  get  inter- 
ested. But  when  he  had  gone  his  way,  and 
I  had  met  another  and  another  station-master, 
I  began  to  think  of  writing  a  Gilbertian  opera. 

"  Would  you  believe  it  ?  That  wayside 
station  had  seven  station-masters,  all  drawing 
$120  per  month,  all  doing  no  work  what- 
soever, and  all  because  they  happened  to  be 
the  sons  or  nephews  of  influential  Chinese 
officials  in  authority. 

"It  was  apparently  the  same  with  every 
station  on  that  line.  The  white  men  and 
the  head  coolie  did  all  the  work,  while  the 
station-masters  enjoyed  a  fat  income  for 
doing  nothing.  And  yet  that  railway  pays 
handsomely." 

Of  course  labour  is  remarkably  cheap  in 
China,  besides  which  that  line  enjoys  a  mono- 

29 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

poly  of  the  traffic,  but  this  little  story  shows 
two  points  very  clearly — how  John  China- 
man will  make  use  of  the  foreigner  when  he 
can,  and  how  far  a  Chinese  directorate  is 
from  running  a  concern  on  hard  business 
lines. 

Perhaps  we  have  dealt  at  sufficient  length 
with  John  Chinaman's  little  business  ways 
to  warrant  our  appror.ching  other  questions. 
There  are  many  things  to  be  considered  by 
those  British  firms  who  would  find  new 
markets  or  place  their  loans  in  China. 

The  country's  industrial  development  means 
the  development  of  railways,  of  mines,  of 
agriculture  and  of  manufactures.  But  to 
bring  all  these  trees  to  a  bearing-stage  capital 
is  urgently  required.  Mines,  in  particular, 
demand  close  attention,  because  in  the  next 
twenty  years  they  are  going  to  play  a  very 
big  part  in  the  growth  of  new  China.  Just 
as  the  first  Chinese  Government  railway  owed 
its  birth  to  the  necessity  of  carrying  coal 
from  Tongshan  to  the  Hsukochwang  canal, 
so  mining  and  railway  expansion  will  neces- 
sarily go  hand  in  hand  to  rejuvenate  this 
wonderful  prehistoric  land. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  quote 
the  remarks  of  Mr.  Arthur  J.  Hoskin,  showing 
the  relative  values  of  mining,  agriculture, 
and  manufactures  to  such  a  country  as  the 
United  States,   and  although  we  cannot  say 

30 


TO  THE  BUSINESS  MAN  AT  HOME 

that  China  will  be  found  relatively  so  well 
supplied  with  mineral  wealth  as  her  great 
sister,  we  may  safely  prophesy  she  will  not 
have  cause  to  bewail  her  portion. 

"  In  the  United  States  in  1900  the  census 
returns  showed  that  agriculture  produced 
about  $725  (gold)  per  capita,  mining  $1,910, 
and  manufacturing,  which  is  dependent  upon 
the  others,  $7e0.  The  '  National  Banker ' 
has  said :  statistics  show  that  the  combined 
dividends  paid  by  the  gold  and  silver  mining 
companies  of  the  United  States  are  greater 
than  the  combined  dividends  paid  by  all 
the  banking  institutions  of  the  country,  and 
the  combined  dividends  paid  by  the  copper 
mining  companies  of  the  United  States  exceed 
the  combined  dividends  paid  by  our  rail- 
roads." 

These  figures  must  give  hope  to  all  well- 
wishers  of  China.  Is  it  conceivable  that  such 
a  great  country,  which  up  to  the  present 
time  has  hardly  been  scratched,  shall  not 
yield  some  of  the  biggest  mining  enterprises 
of  the  world  ? 


31 


CHAPTER   III 


MINING   IN    GENERAL 


In  the  two  foregoing  chapters  we  have  touched 
the  fringe  of  forces  which  tend  to  undermine 
China.  In  the  two  next  chapters  we  shall 
deal  with  some  of  the  forces  which  are  actually 
mining  China.  In  these  latter  pages  coal 
will,  therefore,  bulk  largely,  as  already  ex- 
plained, because  its  local  importance  before 
all  other  minerals  is  due  to  its  extensive 
spread.  The  anthracite  resources  of  Shansi 
alone  are  said  to  be  as  great  as  those  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  Szechuan  coal-fields  are  believed  to  be 
even  bigger,  whilst  Hunan,  Honan,  Shan- 
tung, Yunnan,  Kiangsi,  Chili,  and  the  three 
Manchurian  provinces  are  all  amply  supplied. 
The  total  production  at  the  present  time  is 
approaching  20,000,000  tons  annually,  and 
of  this  output  more  than  half  is  anthracite. 
Manchuria  and  Chili  have  the  most  important 
coal-fields  in  operation,  and  after  them  come 
Shantung  and  Kiangsi. 

32 


MINING   IN  GENERAL 

Manchuria  can  boast  of  the  Fushun  and 
Penchihu  Mines.  Chili  enjoys  the  energy  of 
the  Kailan  Mines,  the  Chinghsing,  under 
German  supervision,  and  the  Lincheng  Mines. 
All  these  are  thoroughly  equipped  with 
modern  machinery.  In  Shantung  coal  is  found 
in  many  places,  but  its  chief  production 
comes  from  the  Shantung  Bergbau  Gesell- 
schaft  at  Poshan  and  Fangtse.  These  mines 
have  washing  plants.  On  this  field,  as  in 
every  other  in  China,  extensive  operations 
are  carried  out  by  native  mining  companies 
upon  a  small  scale.  The  Yihsien  coal-field  is 
also  in  the  province  of  Shantung,  and  the 
Germans  are  interested  in  it  to  a  limited 
extent. 

The  Chinese  Paochin  Mining  Company  con- 
trols the  mining  of  the  vast  Shansi  anthracite 
deposits,  which  are  of  immense  importance. 
The  seams  are  so  thick,  so  little  disturbed, 
so  well  exposed,  and  so  widely  distributed. 
They  cover  an  area  of  some  6,000  square 
miles,  and  it  has  been  estimated  that  each 
square  mile  should  be  able  to  yield  22,000,000 
tons  of  good  coal. 

But  control  by  a  purely  Chinese  company 
usually  means  one  of  two  things — an  attempt 
at  operations  until  debt,  bad  management, 
and  cash-leakage  stop  them,  or  no  real  attempt 
at  any  operations  whatsoever. 

With    the    development    of    this    valuable 
D  33 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Shansi  coal-field  the  Paochin  Mining  Company 
has  made  deplorably  little  progress  so  far. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that 
no  really  big  concern  is  likely  to  succeed 
under  purely  Chinese  management  in  China. 
Even  the  China  Merchants  Steam  Navigation 
Company  and  the  Hanyehping  Iron  and  Coal 
Corporation  went  through  a  period  of  crisis 
in  1912.  Thanks  to  advances  from  Mitsui 
&  Company  the  Corporation  recommenced 
work,  but  it  had  to  submit  to  Japanese 
supervision. 

In  the  same  way,  outside  Manchuria  and 
the  Treaty  ports  no  really  big  industrial 
concern  is  likely  to  succeed  under  purely 
foreign  management  in  China. 

The  reason  for  this  is  simple :  the  Chinese 
cannot  stop  a  leakage  of  expenditure,  only 
the  foreigner  can  do  that.  But  the  foreigner 
cannot  grease  official  wheels ;  nor  can  he 
exercise  indirect  power  at  Peking  to  the 
same  extent  as  a  Chinese  if  he  has  relatives 
in  authority  there. 

Besides  this  point,  China's  face  must  always 
be  saved,  and  a  big  industrial  concern  under 
purely  foreign  control  rankles  in  the  mind 
of  every  son  of  Han. 

However,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
"  squeeze  "  can  be  entirely  eliminated,  even 
when  a  business  is  run  under  joint  Chinese 
and  foreign  control.     If  leakage  be  absolutely 

84 


MINING   IN  GENERAL 

and  entirely  cut  off,  the  Chinese  will  look 
upon  the  game  as  not  worth  playing.  There- 
fore foreigners  in  China  have  to  stipulate  for 
foreign  control,  but  the  foreign  manager  must 
use  his  discretion  in  letting  the  game  be  a 
paying  one  for  the  shareholders  as  well  as  a 
sufficiently  interesting  one  for  the  Chinese 
with  whom  he  works. 

Nearly  all  the  new  mines  now  opening  up 
in  Manchuria  are  to  be  under  joint  Chinese 
and  Japanese  control.  This  question  of  pre- 
ponderating control  is  touched  upon  later, 
but  the  Chinese  themselves  realize  that  a 
mine  under  foreign  supervision  always  pays 
better  than  a  mine  in  Chinese  hands. 

When  mines  shall  have  been  opened  up 
all  over  China  with  the  aid  of  railways, 
revolutions  will  cease.  It  is  contrary  to 
human  nature  for  men  with  full  stomachs 
to  raise  insurrections,  and  the  community 
which  lives  near  any  big  mining  centre  in 
China  is  always  prosperous  and  happy  to  look 
upon. 

Broadly  speaking,  practically  all  the  mining 
industry  of  China  is  confined  to  Northern 
China  at  present.  The  Pinghsiang  Collieries, 
of  course,  must  be  excepted,  and  so  must 
the  native-worked  mines  of  Szechuan  and 
Yunnan.  These,  however,  only  cater  for 
local  needs,  which  are  not  of  any  great 
magnitude. 

85 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

The  Pinghsiang  Collieries  supply  coal  and 
excellent  coke  to  their  Hanyang  Steel  Works. 
The  coal  is  of  a  bituminous  coking  variety, 
and  the  output  is  about  150,000  tons  per 
annum.  When  the  Canton-Hankow  railway- 
line  is  completed,  this  mine  will  merit  much 
greater  attention  than  it  secures  now.  But 
revolution  after  revolution  has  delayed  this 
railway,  and  who  can  say  when  it  will  really 
be  built  ? 

The  great  fundamental  differences  between 
Northern  and  Southern  China  are  two — climatic 
and  means  of  internal  transportation. 

When  railways  begin  to  spread  uniformly 
throughout  the  land,  this  latter  difference 
will  gradually  disappear,  but  at  present  it  is 
a  difference  between  the  boat  and  the  cart. 
Of  course  there  are  carts  down  south  just  as 
there  are  boats  up  north,  but  there  are  prac- 
tically no  roads  in  China.  Even  the  motorist 
at  the  Treaty  ports  feels  the  pinch  of  this 
limitation.  Down  in  Shanghai  he  may  be 
able  to  get  a  spin  of  eleven  or  twelve  miles. 
Up  in  Tientsin  he  cannot  possibly  go  farther 
than  about  half  that  distance.  But  when 
the  traveller  proceeds  outside  the  jurisdiction 
of  these  ports  he  finds  nothing  but  mere 
tracks  which  become  hopelessly  impassable 
in  rainy  weather. 

This  road  question  has  a  very  distinct 
bearing  upon  industry  of  every  sort  in  China, 

36 


MINING  IN  GENERAL 

but  more  especially  does  it  affect  mining. 
In  so  far  as  coal  is  concerned  there  are  two 
big  concerns  operating.  There  are  many 
smaller  ones  which  may  become  of  great 
importance  later  on,  but  there  are  only  two 
really  big  forces  now  operating  in  China's 
coal- mining  world. 

These  are  the  Fushun  Collieries  near  Muk- 
den and  the  Kailan  Mining  Administration's 
Mines  between  Tongshan  and  Chinwangtao. 
The  former  are  under  Japanese  management, 
and  controlled  by  the  Japanese  coal  ring. 
The  latter  are  under  British  management, 
and  may  be  considered  an  Anglo-Belgian- 
Chinese  concern.  After  these  two  really 
powerful  forces  we  might  mention  the  Pingh- 
siang  Collieries,  which  have  already  been 
referred  to,  the  Peking  Syndicate,  and  the 
Penchihu  Mines  in  Manchuria.  Then  come 
a  number  of  less  important  ones  such  as  the 
Chinghsing,  the  Paoshan,  and  the  Yihsien 
Mines. 

The  Peking  Syndicate's  coal  is  anthracite. 
It  cannot  therefore  ever  compete  with  the 
Fushun  or  Kailan  coal,  which  is  bituminous. 
Furthermore  the  Peking  Syndicate  received  a 
crushing  set-back  in  September  1912,  when 
two  of  its  shafts  were  absolutely  flooded.  It 
will  probably  be  a  very  long  time  before  it 
makes  up  for  the  ground  lost. 

The    Pinghsiang    Collieries    belong    to    the 

37 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Hanyehping  Coal  and  Steel  Corporation. 
This  is  a  semi-government  concern.  But  the 
late  revolutionary  disturbances  embarrassed 
it.  It  closed  down  for  some  time,  and  was 
in  great  danger  of  having  its  property  destroyed 
by  the  rebels  more  than  once.  When  the 
Canton-Hankow  line  is  built,  this  mine  will 
be  able  to  compete  in  the  Hong  Kong  coal 
market. 

The  Penchihu  Mine  is  rising  in  importance, 
although  the  coal  is  not  of  superlative 
quality.  This  mine  is  under  joint  Chinese 
and  Japanese  control,  just  in  the  same  way 
that  the  Kailan  Administration  is  under 
joint  foreign  and  Chinese  control.  All  the 
mines  now  opening  up  in  Manchuria  are  semi- 
divided  in  the  same  way.  This  emphasizes 
what  has  been  said — that  any  big  concern 
in  China  cannot  be  run  by  foreigners  alone, 
any  more  than  it  can  be  run  by  Chinese 
alone. 

In  a  few  years'  time  the  Penchihu  Mines 
may  be  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with,  but  at 
present  only  the  Fushun  and  Kailan  Mines 
really   count. 

Only  these  two  forces  represent  China  in 
the  race  against  Japan  to  monopolize  the 
coal  market  of  the  Chinese  Pacific  coast. 
They  also  have  this  advantage  over  Japan  : 
they  are  both  still  capable  of  tremendous 
development,  ^whereas  Japan  must  have  very 

38 


MINING   IN   GENERAL 

nearly  reached  the  limit  of  her  maximum  coal 
output. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  inland  coal 
consumption  amongst  the  villages  of  all  the 
Chinese  provinces  is  still  very,  very  small. 
It  will  never  pay  a  big  company  equipped 
with  modern  machinery  and  expensive  plant 
to  rely  upon  local  sales  until  the  domestic 
use  of  coal  is  much  more  widely  appreciated. 
Hitherto  Chinese  peasants  have  sat  shivering 
around  the  embers  of  their  straw  fires,  almost 
frozen  to  death,  whilst  the  bitter  snow-storms 
of  a  northern  winter  have  howled  entreaties 
to  them  to  mine  the  wonderful  stores  of  coal 
which  lay  neglected  such  a  very  few  feet 
below  where  they  were  sitting.  The  Chinese 
have  listened  to  these  entreaties  with  a  stolid, 
stupefied  indifference.  With  trembling,  frozen 
fingers  they  have  readjusted  the  furry  ear- 
caps  upon  their  equally  frozen  ears,  and  the 
winds  have  continued  to  moan  their  bitter 
lament,  but  they  have  moaned  their  lament 
in  vain. 

The  Chinese  peasant  has  taken  a  very  long 
time  to  appreciate  the  use  of  coal.  This  is 
due  in  equal  measure  to  the  low  rate  of  his 
own  earnings  and  to  the  high  cost  of  carting 
coal.  Hitherto  he  has  had  few  wants,  but 
he  has  been  remarkably  poor  when  it  became 
a  question  of  converting  a  new-found  luxury 
into  a  necessity.     Perhaps  he  was  wise  enough 

39 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

to  see  that  the  poor  man  without  wants  is 
just  as  independent  a  creature  as  the  rich 
man  with  sufficient  means  to  satisfy  his 
wants. 

The  Chinese  peasant's  mental  attitude  to- 
wards coal  does  not  concern  us  very  greatly, 
but  his  tardy  action  in  utilizing  coal  concerns 
us  a  very  great  deal.  His  indifference  has 
forced  coal-mining  companies  to  look  for 
their  market  and  profit  through  export.  This, 
of  course,  means  that  until  an  internal  do- 
mestic consumption  of  coal  becomes  more 
marked,  propinquity  to  the  sea-coast  or  pro- 
pinquity to  a  railway  where  freight  rates  are 
cheap  become  factors  of  the  most  vital 
importance.  These  factors  are  almost  of  as 
much  importance  as  the  quality  of  the  coal 
it  is  desired  to  sell. 

Compare  the  relative  advantages  now  en- 
joyed by  the  Fushun  and  Kailan  Collieries 
in  this  respect.  The  analyses  of  their  coals 
may  be  taken  from  the  following  tables  : 


No. 

Locality. 

Mois- 
ture. 

Volatile 
hydro- 
carbon. 

Fixed 
carbon. 

Ash. 

Sul- 
phur. 

Analyst. 

Remarks. 

1 

2 

Fushun 

Per 
cent. 

6-30 
4-43 

Per 

cent. 

39-34 
40-33 

Per 

cent. 

52-90 
48-89 

Per 
cent. 

3-18 
6-35 

Per 

cent. 

0-27 
TOO 

C.  H.  Wang 

Average 
of     seven 
pubUshed 
analyses. 

Mr.  K.  Inouye  has  classified  these  Fushun 

40 


MINING  IN  GENERAL 

coals  as  sub-bituminous  and  of  tertian  age. 
But  all  Manchurian  coals  are  very  friable, 
furnishing  but  a  small  proportion  of  lump 
size,  and  no  good  coking  coal  has  yet  been 
found. 

The  analyses  of  the  Kailan  coals  vary 
rather  considerably.  Those  given  in  Mr. 
Thomas  T.  Read's  article  published  in  the 
"  Far  Eastern  Review "  in  July  1912  are 
as  follows  : 


No. 

Locality. 

Mois- 
ture. 

Ash. 

Fixed 
carbon. 

Volatile 
hydro- 
carbon. 

Sul- 
phur. 

Fixed 
carbon 
ratio. 

Analyst. 

Eeniarks. 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

1 

Tongshan 

I'OO 

16-67 

56-78 

25-55 

roi 

2-22 

C.H. 

Wang 

Coking, 
bitumin- 
ous. 

2 

5> 

0-84 

18-02 

5719 

23-95 

1-46 

2-38 

" 

Bitumin- 
ous. 

3 

" 

1-37 

21-72 

53-81 

2310 

2-55 

233 

" 

Non- 
coking, 
bitumin- 
ous. 

4 

" 

0-93 

12-29 

59-75 

2703 

3-90 

2-21 

>» 

Coking, 
bitumin- 
ous. 

6 

" 

0-90 

13-55 

70-33 

15-22 

2-26 

4-62 

5J 

Coking, 
bitumin- 
ous. 

6 

> 

0-77 

18-59 

53-28 

27-40 

1-11 

Average 
analysis 
furnislied 
by    t  li  o 
company. 

7 

Linsi 

0-77 

19-18 

51-97 

28-05 

0-88 

Average 
analysis 
furnished 
by    the 
company 

41 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

But  here   are   some   more   figures   of  more 
recent  date : 


Navy  Lump. 

Loco  Lump. 

LinsiLump. 

No.  5  Slack 

No.  1  Slack. 

Moisture 
Volatile  matter 
Fixed  carbon 
Ash      . 

rio 

30-95 

62-55 

5-40 

-88 

29-89 

59-44 

9-79 

•80 
29-30 
57-20 
12-70 

•90 
28-90 
59-60 
10-60 

-78 
27-15 
55-95 
16-12 

100-00 

100-00 

100-00 

100-00 

100-00 

Coke    . 

Sulphur 

67-95 

-78 

69-23 
1-10 

69-90 

•97 

7316 
114 

72-07 
1-08 

In  comparing  these  two  analyses  there 
seems  to  be  a  big  difference  of  opinion  as 
regards  ash,  but  this  may  be  due  to  washing 
and  drying,  or  to  some  explanation  not  apparent 
to  the  eye. 

We  will,  however,  return  to  the  comparison 
we  were  making  between  the  position  of 
Fushun  and  Kailan  coal  as  regards  the  over- 
sea market.  We  have  seen  that  Fushun  coal 
is  sub-bituminous  of  excellent  quality.  The 
output  of  the  Fushun  Mine  is  approaching 
1,500,000  tons  per  annum.  That  of  the  Kailan 
Mining  Administration  for  the  year  ending 
June  1913  was  1,740,000  tons.  This  output, 
however,  will  soon  be  greatly  augmented. 

The  Administration's  mines  are  nearer  to 
the  sea,  but  they  can  only  be  exported  in 
any  quantity  from  one  port,  Chinwangtao, 
because  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tientsin 

42 


MINING  IN  GENERAL 

River  prevents  deep  draught  vessels  from  filling 
up  their  bunkers  at  Tongku. 

Furthermore  the  mines  are  not  the  property 
of  the  Chinese  Government  railways,  so  that 
cost  of  carriage  must  be  taken  into  account. 
The  distance  from  Tongshan  to  Chinwangtao 
is  eighty-six  miles.  The  distance  from  Tong- 
shan to  Tongku  is  fifty-four  miles.  There 
has  also,  in  the  past,  been  some  competition 
for  coal-trucks  on  the  Pekin— Mukden  line, 
because  other  interests  besides  the  Kailan 
Mines  have  to  be  considered. 

Fushun  coal  has  two  ports  of  export — 
Yinkow  and  Dalny.  It  has  the  monopoly  of 
supplying  the  Dalny  shipping  trade  as  well 
as  the  South  Manchurian  Railway ;  but,  above 
all,  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  mine 
belongs  to  the  South  Manchurian  Railway,  and 
on  that  account  enjoys  special  railage  facilities. 

The  South  Manchurian  Railway  Company 
is  one  of  the  biggest  concerns  in  China.  Its 
debentures  are  guaranteed  by  the  Imperial 
Japanese  Government.  It  controls  not  only 
the  mines  and  railway,  but  also  the  port  of 
Dalny,  and  it  runs  a  line  of  steamers  to  con- 
nect Shanghai  with  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway 
route.  In  1912  its  profits  were  over  3,000,000 
yen.  It  will,  therefore,  be  seen  how  widely 
extended  its  operations  are. 

It  may  interest  British  and  American  readers 
to  know,    roughly,  what   profits   there  are   in 

43 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

China  for  the  big  coal-mining  company  which 
is  lucky  enough  to  have  a  good  quality  of 
coal,  as  well  as  to  be  favourably  situated  near 
a  railway  with  easy  access  to  the  sea. 

In  England  the  average  pit-head  cost  of 
producing  each  ton  is,  approximately,  85.  3d. 
The  average  selling-price  in  London  is,  ap- 
proximately, 16s.  6d. — that  is  to  say,  the 
selling-price  in  London  is  double  the  pit-head 
price. 

In  China  the  selling-price  is,  approximately, 
three  times  the  cost-price  at  pit-head  at 
places  situated  within  a  similar  radius  from 
the  mine. 

Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  a  report  by  a 
European  expert  relating  to  some  mines  in 
the  vicinity  of  Peking.  In  this  report  he 
says  : 

"  The  salaries  of  workmen  are  somewhat 
higher  than  those  obtained  at  the  Tongshan 
Mines.  The  shifts  are  twelve  hours.  Coal- 
cutters are  paid  about  50  cents  and  coolies 
40  cents  per  diem.  This  high  rate  of  pay, 
in  a  region  so  far  from  the  big  centres,  is 
somewhat  abnormal.  A  mine  established  in 
this  region,  and  consistently  worked  under 
good  management,  would  give  for  many  years 
a  lump  coal  at  a  cost- price  of  one  and  a 
half  dollars  at  the  mine." 

This  estimate,  of  course,  means  the  Mexican 
dollar   or  two   shillings   in   English  currency ; 

44 


MINING  IN  GENERAL 

but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  expert 
was  discussing  a  property  which  was  only 
being  worked  by  native  methods.  The  aver- 
age price  in  Peking  for  native-mined  coal  is 
considerably  less  than  that  mined  by  the  big 
foreign- controlled  companies,  the  expenses  of 
the  native  mine  being  very  small  indeed. 
Of  course  the  big  companies,  by  screening 
and  washing,  produce  a  better  article,  but 
the  salaries  they  pay  to  their  foreign  em- 
ployees are  frequently  very  high.  In  addition 
to  this  they  have  to  face  heavy  office  expenses. 

We  may  take  it  for  granted  that  the  pit- 
head cost-price  on  either  the  Fushun  or  the 
Kailan  Mines  will  be  considerably  more  than 
one  and  a  half  dollars  per  ton.  It  will  probably 
be  between  two  and  three  dollars  per  ton. 
The  quality  of  coal  mined  in  Shantung  is  not 
considered  so  good  as  that  mined  near  Tongshan 
or  Fushun.  It  is,  moreover,  mostly  anthracite. 
But  this  statement  may  demand  qualification, 
because  the  budding  Yihsien  coal-fields  are 
said  to  yield  a  bituminous  coal  of  excellent 
quality. 

As  far  as  we  can  see  at  present,  then,  the 
struggle  for  supremacy  in  the  China  coal 
market  is  coming  between  the  Kailan  colossus 
and  the  Fushun  Mines.  Both  concerns  are 
doubling  their  efforts  to  try  to  double  their 
outputs.  Both  concerns  are  competing  for  the 
southern  markets. 

45 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

In  1913  the  Fushun  Mine  secured  a  large 
and  valuable  government  contract  in  Manila. 
At  the  same  time  its  two  new  shafts,  the 
Togo  and  Oyama  shafts,  are  being  rapidly 
completed. 

The  Kailan  Administration,  however,  is 
turning  its  attention  to  coke,  and  is  about 
to  erect  a  new  coke  plant  with  machinery  for 
recovering  the  by-products  such  as  ammonia, 
sulphur,  and  so  on.  It  may  also  absorb  new 
coal  areas  before  very  long.  Both  concerns 
are  actively  pushing  their  coal  sales  in  Japan, 
and  in  both  cases  their  shipments  to  Japan 
have  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The 
Penchihu  Colliery  is  making  similar  strides 
in  this  direction,  and  recently  signed  a  con- 
tract for  supplying  100,000  tons ;  all  of  which 
goes  to  show  that  industrial  Japan  must  be 
moving  forward  at  a  great  pace.  The  Im- 
perial Japanese  railways  alone  took  150,000 
tons  of  Fushun  coal  in  the  first  half  of  1913. 

If  there  were  no  coal  in  Japan,  these  big 
shipments  would  cause  no  surprise,  but  ac- 
tivity is  still  observable  in  that  country's 
indigenous  supply. 

Take  the  Matsushima  Colliery,  for  example, 
which  formerly  belonged  to  the  Koga  family, 
and  which  is  situated  on  the  island  of  Matsu- 
shima between  Sasebo  and  Nagasaki.  Its 
output  is  now  only  some  300,000  tons  per 
annum,  but    as  soon  as   the  extension  work 

46 


'    MINING  IN  GENERAL 

being  undertaken   on    this    property   is   com- 
pleted the  output  will  be  doubled. 

Curiously  enough  Japanese  coal  is  not 
competing  so  strongly  on  the  China  coast  as 
it  was.  By  some  people  this  is  attributed 
to  Japan  having  reached  her  point  of  maximum 
output,  whereby  her  relatively  rapid  industrial 
expansion  enables  her  to  absorb  most  of  the 
coal  her  mines  put  forth. 

Other  people,  again,  declare  that  Japanese 
coal  is  too  full  of  gaseous  volatile  matter  to 
become  a  competitor  with  Chinese  coal.  In 
all  probability  the  truth  lies  not  in  this  cause 
or  in  that  cause,  but  somewhere  midway 
between  a  number  of  contributory  causes. 

But  let  us  leave  Japan  for  a  little  while 
and  take  a  trip  down  to  the  Kailan  ^Mines  at 
Tongshan  to  see  for  ourselves  the  big  black 
busy  chimneys,  the  grimy  coolies,  the  coal- 
trucks,  the  head-gear  of  each  mining  shaft, 
the  dumps  of  slack,  and  the  hundred  and 
one  other  items  which  make  up  the  coal- 
mining picture  all  the  world  over. 

We  must  not,  however,  go  away  with  the 
idea  that  Tongshan  is  the  only  place  in  which 
the  Kailan  Mining  Administration  has  inter- 
ests. On  the  contrary,  it  has  mines  at  INIa- 
chiako,  at  Chaokochwang,  as  well  as  at  Linsi. 
At  Machiako  there  is  one  shaft,  at  Chaokoch- 
wang there  are  two  shafts,  at  Linsi  there  are 
two  shafts,  and  at  Tongshan  four.    All  these 

47 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

places  are  in  the  Kaiping  Coastal  District, 
midway  between  the  ports  of  Tongku  and 
Chinwangtao,  with  which  they  are  connected 
by  the  Chinese  Government  railway  system. 
At  Tongshan  there  is  an  electrical  installation 
for  pumping  and  lighting,  which  is  reputed  to 
be  one  of  the  finest  in  the  East.  It  cost 
considerably  over  $1,000,000  (Mexican),  and 
its  boiler-house  is  complete  with  seventeen 
Cornwall-Galloway  type  boilers.  The  surface 
of  the  mine  is  lighted  by  forty-eight  arc-lamps 
and  by  three  hundred  glow-lamps.  Under- 
ground there  are  five  motor- driven  centrifugal 
pumps,  having  an  individual  capacity  of  1,200 
gallons  per  minute  against  a  head  of  750  ft. 

The  various  qualities  of  the  coal  obtained 
are  expressed  by  the  following  nomenclatures : 

Navy  Lump,  Loco  Lump,  Linsi  Lump, 
Chaokochwang  Lump,  No.  5  Slack,  No.  1 
Slack,  No.  2  Slack,  and  Special  Coke. 

Each  of  these  qualities,  though  perhaps 
unfitted  for  other  purposes,  is  good  for  the 
specific  uses  to  which  it  is  customarily  put. 

No.  5  Slack,  for  instance,  is  undoubtedly 
amongst  the  best  slack  coals  in  the  Far 
East,  but  its  chief  advantage  is  its  adapt- 
ability to  the  manufacture  of  coke. 

Again,  Navy  Lump  is  said  to  be  the  finest 
coal  for  industrial  purposes  to  be  found 
anywhere  east  of  Suez.  It  is  nearly  smoke- 
less, and   gives   a   very   small    percentage   of 

48 


MINING  IN  GENERAL 

ash.  It  is  often  used  for  naval  purposes, 
but  its  supply  unfortunately  is  not  without 
limit ;  it  is  small. 

For  railway  work  and  bunkering,  Loco 
Lump  is  now  the  premier  coal  in  the  North 
China  market.  It  is  highly  bituminous,  and 
for  raising  steam  it  can  show  good  results. 

But  there  is  one  little  fact  which  is  some- 
times overlooked  by  foreigners  in  China. 
Strange  as  it  may  sound  to  them,  there  is  an 
indigenous  race  of  men  living  there  with 
yellow  faces  and  apparently  inverted  tastes. 
One  of  these  apparently  inverted  tastes  has 
imbued  these  yellow  men  with  a  particularly 
strong  sense  of  the  advantages  of  buying 
slack  coal  whenever  they  can  bring  them- 
selves to  buy  coal  at  all.  They  find  it  ex- 
cellent for  their  various  purposes,  and  it  is, 
moreover,  remarkably  cheap.  Accordingly  a 
market  in  slack  is  springing  up,  and  cart- 
loads of  this  coal  are  now  being  sold  annually 
in  increasing  quantities  until  it  may  be  said 
to  shed  a  glow  of  warmth  upon  North  China 
in  defiance  of  the  Lady  Winter  who  spreads 
her  ermine  cloak  down  from  the  north  in  vain. 

Up  to  this  point  we  have  peeped  at  Kailan 
coals,  but  have  not  touched  upon  the  Adminis- 
tration's other  products,  although  several  of 
these  deserve  more  than  a  cursory  mention. 

To  begin  with,  there  are  the  fire-clays  : 
these,  obedient  to  geology's  unfathomable  laws, 
E  49 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

are  found  in  close  association  with  the  coal- 
seams,  with  a  sufficiency  outcropping  upon 
the  Administration's  property  to  justify  the 
boast  that  their  stock  is  immense.  In  class, 
too,  they  are  declared  by  experts  to  be  good. 
Next  we  turn  to  the  fire-brick  factory  at 
Tongshan,  with  another  subsidiary  factory 
at  Linsi.  Both  of  these  are  up-to-date,  and 
at  present  are  putting  out,  approximately 
50,000  tons  per  annum.  Were  it  deemed 
advisable  to  work  at  fever-pitch,  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  this  output  could  be 
augmented,  for  the  equipment  might  be  able 
to  handle  100,000  tons  per  annum  without 
straining  the  Administration's  plant  or  the 
writer's  reputation  for  veracity. 

All  up  and  down  the  Pacific  coast-lands, 
through  contract  after  contract,  these  bricks 
are  strewn  ;  here  a  few  in  Singapore,  there 
half  a  million  in  San  Francisco.  They  will 
tell  their  tale  to  the  sons  of  unborn  empires 
in  future  days  to  come.  Then,  when  Tientsin 
shall  have  become  as  old,  as  dead,  and  as 
venerable  as  Babylon  is  to  us  now,  some 
antiquarian  may  stumble  across  a  K.  M.  A. 
brick,  and  with  ecstasy  will  read  upon  it  not 
only  the  hieroglyphics  K.  M.  A.,  but  also  the 
more  important  message  of  progress  which 
white  men  brought  to  far  Cathay  at  that 
long-forgotten  period. 

But  there   is  no  necessity   for  us  to  look 

50 


MINING  IN  GENERAL 

two  or  three  thousand  years  ahead  ;  for  the 
moment  we  are  more  concerned  with  things 
nearer  our  own  times,  amongst  which  we 
might  mention  tiles.  The  Kailan  Mining  Ad- 
ministration makes  tiles  and  makes  earthen- 
ware pipes  besides.  In  both  these  com- 
modities a  steadily-increasing  trade  has  been 
established,  and  the  busy  grinding  mills  or 
smoking  kilns  at  Tongshan  are  a  reminder 
that  yet  more  activity  may  be  expected  when 
the  outside  world  becomes  better  acquainted 
with  these  latest  products  of  the  Chinese 
coal-mining  colossus. 


51 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE    RISE    OF   THE    KAILAN    MINING 
ADMINISTRATION 

It  is  curious  that  the  whole  history  of  China's 
coal-mining  development  should  be  concen- 
trated within  the  history  of  two  companies. 
Therein  we  may  trace  the  "  Foreign  Devil's  " 
hand  compelling  China  to  develop  her  coal 
in  spite  of  her  own  prejudices. 

Just  as  we  see  her  to-day  unwilling  to  let 
foreigners  supervise  her  expenditure,  we  may 
trace  in  the  Kailan  Administration's  history 
her  attempts  to  keep  the  foreigner  out.  All 
through  the  story  about  to  be  related  we  hear 
Chinese  officials  saying  to  one  another,  "  We 
must  not  allow  these  barbarians  to  mine 
China,  or  they  will  undermine  China."  We 
can  also  follow  the  various  phases  whereby 
any  big  Chinese  concern  gradually  falls  into 
debt,  passes  through  a  stage  of  foreign  pos- 
session or  control,  and  eventually  emerges 
successfully  as  a  joint  Chinese  and  foreign 
concern.  These  various  stages  are  particularly 
interesting,  in  view  of  what  is  now  happening 

52 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

to  China  as  a  whole.  We  see  almost  exactly 
the  same  phases  occurring  on  the  bigger 
scale  which  have  ultimately  led  to  success 
on  the  smaller  scale. 

Instead  of  the  foreign  directors  of  the 
Chinese  Engineering  and  Mining  Company 
we  see  the  foreign  Powers.  Instead  of  a 
Chinese  coal-mining  company  falling  into  debt 
we  see  the  Chinese  nation  falling  into  debt. 

In  course  of  time  the  Chinese  Treasury 
must  come  into  foreign  hands  in  the  same 
way  that  the  coal-mining  company  did,  and 
the  Chinese  will  not  like  it.  But,  after  a 
while,  we  shall  see  China  developing  as  a  big 
Chino-foreign  concern  under  joint  manage- 
ment. We  shall  hear  no  more  of  Chinese  re- 
sentment, because  prosperity  will  have  soothed 
it.  And  afterwards  we  shall  see  the  most 
glorious  dawn  of  industrial  development  which 
the  world  has  ever  known.  In  this  story  lies 
a  trusty  key  to  China's  unborn  history.  It 
is  not  difficult,  therefore,  to  prophesy  good 
things. 

Just  in  the  same  way  that  Chinese  share- 
holders in  the  Kailan  Administration  now 
touch  dividends  they  never  did  before,  the 
Chinese  of  to-morrow  will  reap  the  benefit  of 
factories  and  mills  and  railways.  Busy  trains 
will  be  rushing  with  feverish  activity  past 
the  sites  of  former  temples.  Corn-lands  will 
cover  forgotten  graves.     The  bang  and  clatter 

53 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

of  sorting-rooms,  the  whirr  of  machinery,  or 
the  telephone-bell  will  have  drowned  the 
shouts  of  rebel  soldiery. 

All  these  things  are  bound  to  come,  but 
the  foreign  control  which  will  bring  them  in 
its  wake  is  only  beginning  to  be  felt.  On 
the  smaller  scale  it  has  crystallized  already. 

The  bang  and  clatter  of  coal-tubs,  the 
whirr  of  machinery,  or  the  telephone-bell 
may  be  heard  at  Tongshan  any  day  of  the 
week.  They  sing  a  song  of  wages,  war,  and 
cheque-books,  but  the  war  is  only  commercial 
war  and  the  cheque-books  flutter  in  London 
as  much  as  they  do  in  Peking.  Here  we 
must  make  a  short  digression  that  the  story 
may  be  appreciated  to  the  full. 

For  many  years  China  has  been  avoiding 
the  day  when  she  must  put  her  mining  laws 
upon  a  reasonable  footing.  That  day  is  said 
to  have  arrived  at  last,  and  new  mining 
laws  may  have  been  promulgated  before  this 
book  reaches  the  press.  But  it  is  possible 
that  they  may  have  to  be  sent  back  for 
revision,  as  they  have  been  so  often  in  the 
past.  In  1909  European  mining  circles  were 
interested  to  know  that  China  proposed  issuing 
amended  mining  laws.  Being  ignorant  of 
China  and  her  customs,  these  mining  men 
were  foolish  enough  to  expect  much  instead 
of  little,  though  they  afterwards  found  out 
their   mistake.     Some   of  them   were   on   the 

54 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

tip-toe  of  excitement,  picturing  to  themselves 
a  great  unlocking  of  a  virgin  Eldorado. 

Into  the  minds  of  the  less  scrupulous,  no 
doubt,  floated  visions  of  "  booms,"  of  syndi- 
cate swindles,  and  of  "  salted "  properties. 
They  pictured  to  themselves  glowing  prospec- 
tuses with  which  they  might  deceive  the 
Chinese  public,  prospectuses  based  on  the 
scientific  lie  of  that  truthful  person,  the 
mining  expert.  They  saw  "  dumps,"  and 
head-gear,  and  tubs,  and  engine-rooms.  But 
when  the  new  Chinese  mining  laws  eventually 
made  their  appearance,  all  these  visionary 
hopes  were  doomed  to  receive  a  very  rude 
shock.  Instead  of  unlocking  her  treasures 
to  the  western  barbarian,  China  offered,  with 
a  smile,  to  let  the  barbarian  risk  his  money, 
provided  China  should  retain  the  soil  and 
receive  whatever  profits  should  come  out 
of  it.  In  a  word,  the  new  mining  laws  were 
ridiculous  in  the  extreme,  and  they  were 
promptly  returned  by  the  British  ^linister 
as  unacceptable  and  wanting  revision. 

Since  then  they  have  been  drafted  and 
sent  back  for  revision  more  than  once.  Now, 
like  the  return  of  a  comet,  their  reappearance 
is  just  about  due.  Any  investor  who  wishes 
to  risk  his  money  in  opening  up  a  mine 
naturally  asks  for  a  fair  chance,  with  as  little 
government  supervision  as  possible.  He  de- 
mands that  revenue  to  the  Government  shall 

55 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

only  be  collected  on  the  output  of  his  property, 
as  every  dollar  spent  by  him  on  development 
adds  to  the  prosperity  of  the  region  in  which 
that  property  lies. 

He  objects  to  having  taxes  and  royalties 
filched  from  his  pocket  before  his  property 
shall  have  reached  the  producing  stage.  He 
also  desires  a  clear  title  to  his  property,  and, 
furthermore,  he  combats  the  idea  that  a  mine 
is  just  a  hole  in  the  ground  which  can  produce 
profit  and  ready  cash  at  will. 

In  none  of  these  things  was  the  Chinese 
Government  willing  to  meet  him,  so  the 
foreign  mining  investor  naturally  held  aloof. 
He  has  been  holding  aloof  more  or  less  ever 
since. 

It  is  interesting  to  reflect  that  China  fears 
losing  her  heritage  to  the  foreigner,  and  only 
gives  him  mining  control  when  she  is  feeling 
distinctly  prostrate.  This  is  twice  exemplified 
in  the  history  of  the  Kailan  Mining  Adminis- 
tration :  first,  in  1900,  when  the  Kaiping 
Mines  were  allowed  to  come  into  the  hands 
of  the  Chinese  Engineering  and  Mining  Com- 
pany ;  secondly,  in  1912,  when  the  Lanchow 
Mining  Company  agreed  to  amalgamate  its 
business  with  that  of  its  old  enemy  the  Chinese 
Engineering  and  Mining  Company  and  come 
under  foreign  control. 

July  1st,  1912,  was  an  epoch-making  date 
in   the    history    of   Chinese    mining.     It    was 

56 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

the  birthday  of  the  Kailan  Mining  Administra- 
tion. For  a  period  of  ten  years  from  that 
date  both  the  Lanchow  and  the  Chinese 
Engineering  and  Mining  Companies  agreed 
to  sink  their  separate  identities  under  the 
name  Kailan.  From  that  date  the  new  Ad- 
ministration became  the  dominating  mining 
power  in  the  whole  of  China,  and  this  Ad- 
ministration is  so  important  that  we  must 
dedicate  more  than  a  little  time  to  it. 

Every  one  of  the  events  which  brought  this 
mighty  power  into  existence  requires  the 
closest  attention.  The  story  is  not  a  new 
one — it  is  not  even  a  secret  one.  Everybody 
in  North  China  could  look  it  up  in  the  back 
files  of  the  daily  papers  if  they  chose  to  do 
so.  It  is  also  partly  written  in  the  report  of 
the  great  action  fought  by  Mr.  Chang  Yen 
Mow  against  the  Engineering  and  Mining 
Company  in  the  British  Law  Courts  in  1905. 

It  is  a  story  where  Mr.  Chang  Yen  Mow 
stands  out  as  a  foolish  Chinaman.  It  is  a 
story  where  Mr.  Hoover  stands  out  as  a  clever 
foreigner.  It  is  remarkable  that  such  a  young 
man  should  have  been  able  to  secure  such  a 
good  bargain  as  the  control  of  the  Kaiping 
coal-fields.     Of  course  he  was  lucky. 

At  the  time  there  was  no  settled  govern- 
ment in  China.  The  Court  had  fled,  and  the 
Boxers  had  thrown  Chinese  resistance  to 
foreign   control   completely   out   of  gear.      It 

57 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

could  not  have  happened  otherwise,  because 
China  only  concedes  mining  privileges  to  the 
westerner  when  she  feels  weak  and  unable  to 
resist  his  demands. 

The  year  1900  was  the  year  of  the  Boxer 
outbreak.  The  Engineering  and  Mining  Com- 
pany passed  into  foreign  hands  that  year. 
The  year  1912  was  the  year  of  anarchy  and 
revolution,  the  year  when  Manchu  rule  was 
thrown  upon  the  scrap-heap.  The  Lanchow 
IMining  Company's  business  came  under  foreign 
control  that  year. 

Mining  men  who  look  towards  China  might 
do  well  to  remember  these  little  facts  even 
if  the  promise  of  a  more  enlightened  policy 
in  Peking  should  tend  to  make  them  forget 
the  lesson. 

The  story  of  the  Genesis  of  the  Kailan 
Administration  is  rather  a  peculiar  one.  From 
a  Chinese  point  of  view,  it  is  not  altogether  a 
pleasant  one.  Even  now  there  are  Chinese 
who  try  not  to  think  of  it.  In  it  they  see  a 
reflection  of  their  country's  undermining,  and 
they  do  not  see  the  industrial  advantages 
which  a  prosperous,  well-equipped  mining 
concern  is  bound  to  bring  in  its  wake. 

Like  the  jovial  surgeon  returning  to  look 
up  a  patient  whose  leg  he  has  taken  off,  the 
Administration's  ruler  now  says  to  China, 
"  Was  it  not  good  for  you  ?  "  But  China 
takes  time  to  consider  before  she  answers  the 

58 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

question.  She  sees  in  the  new  amalgamation 
a  thorough  exploitation  of  coal,  but  she  sees 
her  ideals  are  broken.  She  sees  the  control 
of  the  Kaiping  coal-fields  gone  from  her  hand 
for  ever.  When,  therefore,  her  operator 
friend  repeats  his  question,  "Was  it  not  good 
for  you  ?  "  she  sadly  shakes  her  head  as 
she  answers  :  "  That  may  be,  sir,  that  may 
be,  but  it  still  hurts." 

In  order  to  understand  these  feelings  we 
must  wander  back  some  thirty-four  years 
over  the  hills  of  time,  whence  we  can  observe 
the  story  of  earlier  Chinese  mining  meandering 
slowly  through  autumnal  years  until  it  purples 
away  into  yet  more  misty  obscurity. 

Prior  to  that  date  Chinese  coal-mines  were 
only  scratched  on  the  outcrop,  they  were  not 
treated  scientifically,  for  the  very  simple 
reason  that  the  yellow  men  of  the  day  had 
no  facilities  for  modern  mining.  Their  com- 
mercial instincts  told  them  rightly  enough 
that  "  black  stones  "  had  some  calorific  value. 
Accordingly  they  searched  for  them,  found 
them  all  along  the  Kaiping  Coastal  District, 
and  dug  up  as  many  of  them  as  they  could 
with  the  miserable  appliances  at  their  dis- 
posal. Beyond  that  they  merely  sat  down 
satisfied  more  or  less  at  having  accomplished 
so  much,  but  wliolcly  unaware  of  the  huge 
unsuspected  potentiality  which  lay  like  the 
genii    of   the    story-books,    bound    and   black 

59 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

and   mighty   beneath   their   miserable   mortal 
feet. 

It  cannot  be  disputed  that  the  Kaiping 
District  of  the  Chili  province  was  well 
known  to  these  by-gone  Chinese  as  a  rich 
coal-bearing  area.  Traces  of  their  old  work- 
ings, spread  all  along  the  outcrop,  still  bear 
eloquent  testimony  to  the  industry  with 
which  these  yellow  men  of  old  sought  to 
obtain  their  "  black  stones."  But,  as  time 
went  on,  their  primitive  methods  of  quarrying 
led  them  to  suppose  that  their  mines  were 
exhausted,  and  consequently  they  were  by 
no  means  unwilling  to  sell  their  mining  rights 
when  a  prospective  purchaser  came  along. 
This  buyer  was  an  enterprising  Chinese  gentle- 
man named  Tong  King  Sing. 

Mr.  Percy  Kent,  in  his  book  on  railway 
enterprise  in  China,  sums  up  Tong  as  follows  : 

"  He  was  certainly  a  remarkable  man.  By 
birth  a  Cantonese,  bred  in  the  perfervid  atmo- 
sphere of  anti-foreign  Canton,  he  was  the 
product  of  what,  from  the  western  standpoint, 
was  a  particularly  narrow  and  unprogressive 
age  ;  yet  he  himself  was  a  man  of  progressive 
spirit  and  large  mind.  Though  a  poor  busi- 
ness man,  in  the  sense  that  he  possessed  no 
great  aptitude  for  detail,  he  was,  nevertheless, 
an  honest  administrator  ;  and  combined  with 
his  other  attributes  a  courageous  tenacity  of 
purpose  and  a  fine  spirit  of  patriotism. 

60 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

"  During  the  period  now  under  consideration 
Tong  King  Sing  occupied  the  position  of 
Director-General  of  the  China  Merchants 
Steam  Navigation  Company,  in  the  formation 
of  which  a  few  years  previously  he  had  played 
a  prominent  part.  The  company,  which  was 
a  joint-stock  enterprise,  the  shares  being 
held  exclusively  by  Chinese  merchants,  had 
since  its  formation  added  largely  to  its  fleet. 
Its  demand  for  coal  had,  therefore,  become 
considerable. 

"  But  at  this  time  Japanese  coal  was 
practically  the  only  coal  in  the  Far  Eastern 
market.  China  herself,  though  rich  in  the 
mineral,  produced  none  for  other  than  quite 
local  needs,  such  mines  as  were  open  being 
mostly  in  the  interior  and  worked  by  Chinese 
methods.  Such  a  state  of  affairs  was  very 
distasteful  to  the  mind  of  Tong  King  Sing, 
who  was  anxious  to  see  the  progressive  move 
made  in  the  direction  of  steam  navigation 
followed  by  a  complementary  development 
of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  country." 

Now  Tong  happened  to  enjoy  the  patronage 
of  the  late  Viceroy  of  world-wide  fame,  Li 
Hung  Chang.  Together  they  established  a 
mining  company,  composed  entirely  of  native 
investors.  With  their  money  they  proposed 
to  work  the  Kaiping  Coal  District,  not  as 
heretofore,  by  scratching  the  outcrop  only, 
but  to  mine  this  time  altogether  in  accordance 

61 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

with  European  methods.  Thus  it  was,  in 
1878,  that  the  old  Chinese  Mining  Company 
uttered  its  new-born  cry  :  and  for  the  next 
twenty  years  its  Chinese  nurses  looked  after 
it.  In  1879  the  first  colliery  was  opened  at 
Tongshan,  ten  years  later  the  Linsi  Colliery, 
at  a  distance  of  some  seventeen  or  eighteen 
miles  from  the  parent  shaft,  was  likewise 
opened  up. 

This  was  followed  by  the  north-west  shaft, 
which  began  working  five  years  later  in  the 
vicinity  of  Tongshan.  Meanwhile,  the  company 
had  begun  to  feel  the  necessity  of  getting 
its  produce  down  to  the  sea  as  cheaply  as 
possible,  and  with  this  objective  in  view 
constructed,  in  1880,  first  a  canal  connecting 
the  inland  water-ways  of  China  with  a  point 
as  near  Tongshan  as  their  imperfect  engineering 
methods  would  allow,  and  secondly  a  short 
railway-line  to  connect  this  above-mentioned 
canal-head  with  the  mines.  When  the  first 
sod  of  the  seven-mile  railway  track  was 
turned,  China's  railway  system  was  born, 
and  any  one  who  would  now  venture  to  set 
a  limit  to  its  future  dimensions  must  be 
both  a  brave  and  a  pessimistic  prophet  indeed. 

It  was  the  keen  desire  of  the  company's 
directors  to  distribute  their  coal,  which  led 
them  to  establish  a  line  of  steamers  in  1887, 
and  to  borrow  money  in  1899  from  the  Deutsch 
Asiatic   Bank   with   which   to   purchase   land 

62 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

for  a  radius  of  three  miles  around  Chinwang- 
tao  to  make  there  an  ice-free  port  for  the 
company.  They  rightly  calculated  that  such 
a  harbour  would  be  capable  of  accommodating 
vessels  of  deep  draught  all  the  year  round, 
and  that  it  would  be  particularly  useful 
when  the  Tientsin  River  should  be  frozen. 
Hitherto  they  had  found  their  shipping  in- 
terests seriously  handicapped  by  the  difficulties 
attending  the  navigation  of  the  Taku  Bar 
and  Peiho  River ;  in  fact,  a  complete  cessation 
of  traffic  had  been  unavoidable  during  the 
winter-time  when  this  port  was  ice-bound. 

But  despite  all  these  drawbacks  and  hin- 
drances the  original  company  had  managed 
to  carry  on  its  business  for  more  than  twenty 
years  with  more  or  less  success.  And  then 
the  end  came. 

This  huge  undertaking,  this  vast  monu- 
ment to  the  enterprise  of  the  Chinese  com- 
mercial man,  was  to  pass  into  foreign  hands — 
hands  which  alone  in  China  seem  able  to 
put  big  undertakings  upon  a  firm  financial 
footing,  and  to  staunch  the  ebbing  life-blood 
of  a  constantly  -  leaking  expenditure.  The 
foreigner,  with  all  his  faults,  can  set  a  limit  to 
"  squeeze."  The  Chinese,  with  all  his  virtues, 
cannot. 

It  was  in  1900,  the  year  of  the  Boxer  out- 
break, when  China  hung  down  her  head  in 
utter  disgrace  before  the  tribunal  of   western 

63 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

nations,  that  Mr.  Chang  Yen  Mow,  the  Man- 
aging-Director of  the  old  Chinese  Engineering 
and  Mining  Company,  consulted  with  his 
friend  Mr.  Detring,  and  decided  to  put  all 
the  many  valuable  properties  of  his  company 
into  the  hands  of  two  foreigners. 

His  reasons,  in  view  of  his  subsequent 
action  to  recover  his  rights,  may  seem  some- 
what obscure,  but  probably  he  was  actuated 
in  some  degree  by  a  vision  of  foreign  pro- 
tection. That  he  should  have  desired  pro- 
tection of  this  nature  is  not  altogether  sur- 
prising when  we  look  at  the  events  then 
passing.  Those  events  must  have  loomed 
terribly  large  to  a  Chinese  gentleman  situated 
as  Chang  Yen  Mow  was. 

The  Russians  had  long  desired  to  secure  the 
Peking-Mukden  section  of  the  Imperial  Chinese 
railways,  in  order  to  link  up  the  capital  with 
their  Manchurian  system.  They  bitterly  re- 
sented seeing  the  line  under  Anglo-Chinese 
control,  because  it  interfered  with  their  scheme 
of  securing  a  voice  behind  the  Dragon  throne. 

When  the  Boxer  trouble  broke  out,  Russia 
thought  she  had  secured  the  winning  card. 
Her  long  -  pondered  plans  seemed  to  have 
matured  at  last.  Her  opportunities  had  evi- 
dently come. 

On  May  28th,  1900,  the  Boxers  had  burnt 
the  railway-station  at  Fengtai,  and  a  force 
under  Admiral  Seymour  started  from  Tientsin 

64 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

on  June  9th  to  relieve  the  pressure  which 
threatened  to  overwhelm  the  foreign  legations 
at  Peking.  But  this  force  was  immediately 
compelled  to  fall  back  again  in  order  to 
protect  Tientsin  City.  The  whole  country- 
side was  plunged  into  war,  and  the  Russians 
took  the  necessary  steps  to  secure  the  railway 
as  quickly  as  they  could.  This  they  were 
able  to  do  by  pouring  down  troops  from 
Manchuria.  By  September  18th  the  whole 
line  from  Fengtai  to  Shanhaikwan  was  in 
Russian  occupation,  and  though  Great  Britain 
angrily  resented  it,  Russia  was  preparing 
to  claim  all  the  territory  through  which  the 
line  ran  as  belonging  to  the  Czar  by  right  of 
conquest.  Had  this  claim  been  ultimately 
allowed,  Chang  Yen  Mow  must  have  lost  his 
properties. 

The  only  chance  for  him  apparently  lay  in 
the  protection  offered  by  the  British  flag. 
The  Kaiping  coal-fields  were  not  at  the 
gates  of  Tientsin ;  they  were  much  nearer 
the  Russian  sphere  of  influence  than  that. 
A  very  great  likelihood  of  the  whole  sur- 
rounding district  falling  into  Russian  hands 
must,  therefore,  have  been  presented  to  this 
Chinese  gentleman's  mind.  Under  these  con- 
ditions it  is  not  surprising  that  he  should 
have  acted  injudiciously.  Neither  is  it  sur- 
prising that  a  misunderstanding  should  have 
crept  in  later  over  the  conditions  on  which 
¥  65 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

he  intended  to  relinquish  his  valuable  pro- 
perties. But  we  need  not  probe  into  that 
business.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know 
that  the  men  who  had  secured  the  prize 
quickly  turned  it  into  a  joint-stock  company. 

The  Chinese  Engineering  and  Mining  Com- 
pany was  formed,  but  a  proportion  of  its 
capital  was  raised  in  Belgium.  This  is  inter- 
esting because,  although  the  company  was 
registered  under  the  British  flag,  all  the 
technical  staff  at  the  mines  had  to  be,  and 
must  still  be,  Belgians.  Doubtless  British 
prestige  at  that  time  would  place  a  company 
registered  under  the  Union  Jack  in  a  stronger 
position  than  could  be  enjoyed  under  any 
other  flag.  At  a  moment  of  danger  like  that 
of  1900  such  an  arrangement  would  enable 
the  General  Manager  to  call  upon  British 
bayonets  to  protect  his  property. 

At  such  a  moment  Belgium  could  offer  no 
such  facilities  either  in  a  military  or  in  a 
political  sense.  It  exemplifies  the  subser- 
viency of  diplomacy  and  war  to  finance. 
But  finance  is  a  cosmopolitan  thing.  Great 
Britain  waged  a  war  in  South  Africa  for 
finance,  and  the  British  tax-payer  has  been 
paying  a  higher  income  tax  ever  since.  We 
are  living  in  a  curious  age.  There  was  a 
period  when  kings,  and  barons,  and  cardinals 
held  the  strings  of  power,  and  everybody  else 
danced.     There  was  a  period  when  the  courtier 

66 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

and  the  military  dictator  could  make  puppets 
of  their  fellow- men.  Then  came  the  period 
of  the  politician  and  the  Press.  They  also 
were  powerful  so  long  as  free  speech  was  not 
to  be  bought  or  sold. 

Now  we  have  reached  the  period  when 
finance  alone  is  king.  Diplomats,  generals, 
peoples,  and  countries  may  be  blind  to  their 
servitude,  but  whether  they  be  aware  of  it 
or  no,  their  slavery  to  finance  is  none  the  less 
real. 

Possibly  British  mining  prestige  in  China 
has  been  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  Hoover 
registered  his  company  in  Great  Britain, 
but  all  this  is  a  side  issue.  We  will  go  on 
with  our  story.  When  the  panic  of  1900 
was  over,  Chang  Yen  Mow  tried  to  recover 
the  rights  he  had  already  disposed  of,  and 
with  that  object  in  view  brought  his  case 
before  the  British  High  Court  in  London  in 
1905.  But  he  did  not  succeed  in  regaining 
control  of  the  valuable  properties  he  had 
lost,  although  he  was  given  a  seat  on  the  Board 
of  Directors. 

He  admitted  at  the  trial  that  his  company 
had  been  short  of  money,  but  apparently  he 
based  his  action  upon  the  fact  that  a  board 
of  directors  had  not  been  established  for  the 
new  mining  company  in  China. 

Here  it  is  a  little  difficult  to  understand 
why    Chang    Yen    Mow    took    legal     action 

67 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

in  England  instead  of  exerting  diplomatic 
pressure  at  Peking,  if  he  felt  he  had  suffered 
through  misunderstandings. 

But  the  main  point  with  which  we  are 
concerned  is  that  the  new  Chinese  Engineering 
and  Mining  Company  existed  for  over  ten  years 
in  direct  opposition  to  Chinese  government 
circles  and  to  the  wishes  of  the  Kaiping 
local  people.  Major  Nathan  publicly  stated 
this  fact  in  his  after-dinner  speech  at  the 
Kailan  Mining  Administration's  inaugural 
banquet  which  was  held  at  the  Astor  House 
Hotel  in  Tientsin  in  1912. 

But  matters  did  not  end  here.  We  next 
find  a  purely  Chinese  company,  the  Lanchow 
Mining  Company,  being  formed  and  com- 
mencing coal-mining  operations  in  the  Kaiping 
basin  on  land  which  was  claimed  to  have 
been  granted  to  the  Chinese  Engineering  and 
Mining  Company  in  1900.  Apparently  it  was 
the  distinct  purpose  of  the  Lanchow  Mining- 
Company  to  oppose  the  Anglo-Belgian  concern 
in  the  local  coal  market,  for  a  bitter  rate- 
cutting  war  began  between  them  which  raged 
without  intermission  for  two  or  three  years. 
During  1910  and  1911  matters  had  reached 
such  a  pitch  that  the  Chinese  Government 
proposed  to  buy  back  the  rights  of  the  Chinese 
Engineering  and  Mining  Company  lock,  stock 
and  barrel.  Indeed,  a  lump  sum  cash  price 
had  almost  been  agreed  upon,  and  the  negotia- 

68 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

tions  had  progressed  so  far  that  it  seemed 
only  necessary  for  the  purchasers  to  make 
some  arrangement  for  finding  the  necessary 
miUions. 

Then  of  a  sudden,  with  that  dramatic 
suddenness  which  is  so  characteristic  of  Chinese 
affairs,  the  pohtical  weather-cock  went  right 
round.  The  distant  rumbhng  of  the  coming 
storm  broke  in  upon  the  dehberations  of  the 
contracting  parties  and  disturbed  their  negotia- 
tions ;  and,  when  the  revolution  broke  out 
a  little  while  later,  it  was  found  that  the 
attitude  of  the  Laiichow  Mining  Company 
had  turned  a  complete  somersault.  In  place 
of  a  marked  and  bitter  antagonism  their  tone 
had  suddenly  assumed  the  garb  of  extreme 
docility.  For  the  first  time  since  their  in- 
ception as  a  company  they  were  willing  to 
yield  to  terms.  This  was  the  psychological 
moment  in  China's  mining  history.  This  was 
the  moment  Major  Nathan  must  have  been 
praying  for,  but  had  never  dared  to  expect. 
His  proverbial  good  luck  came  to  his  rescue. 
He  was  not  going  to  lose  his  "job." 

It  must  be  remembered  there  was  some- 
thing very  like  anarchy  ruling  in  China  at 
this  time.  After  the  fall  of  the  Manchu 
throne,  hosts  of  unpaid  soldiers  were  roaming 
everywhere  throughout  the  land.  Feelings 
very  much  akin  to  those  which  had  actuated 
Chang   Yen   Mow   twelve   years   earlier   must 

69 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

have  presented  themselves  to  the  minds  of 
the  Lanchow  directors.  They  probably  re- 
flected upon  the  possibility  of  southern  in- 
fluence becoming  paramount  under  the  new 
regime  which  was  just  dawning  through  the 
mists  of  war.  It  was  probable  the  seat  of 
government  might  be  shifted  to  Nanking. 
It  was  also  possible  that  southern  troops 
might  damage  their  company's  property.  At 
such  a  moment  only  the  foreigner  appeared 
strong  to  their  nervously  excited  minds,  and, 
as  on  the  former  occasion,  they  turned  their 
eyes  towards  protection  of  some  sort,  foreign 
or  otherwise.  Just  as  Chinese  gentry  and 
officials  were  seeking  personal  safety  by  flocking 
into  foreign  settlements,  a  Chinese  company 
was  willing  to  find  shelter  by  placing  its 
business  in  closer  touch  with  a  foreign  flag. 

At  the  same  time,  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  Engineering  and  Mining  Company 
was  any  less  willing  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing, for  the  long-continued  war  of  rates 
had  hit  its  profits  hard.  On  the  contrary,  its 
representatives  in  China  were  anxious  to 
bring  matters  to  a  speedy  conclusion.  Ac- 
cordingly, a  meeting  was  arranged  between 
the  parties  concerned,  and  more  was  done  in 
one  night  of  conciliatory  discussion  than  had 
been  done  by  years  of  rate-cutting  rivalry. 
In  one  night  the  unification  of  the  two  com- 
panies  under  one   administration  was   settled 

70 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

in  principle,  and  more  was  done  towards 
unlocking  China's  mineral  wealth  than  had 
ever  been  done  before. 

If  Major  Nathan  ever  reads  these  pages,  he 
will  probably  lay  stress  upon  the  fact  that 
the  two  companies  under  his  administration 
still  retain  their  separate  entities.  He  will 
say  it  was  only  the  business  of  the  Lanchow 
Mining  Company,  which  came  under  foreign 
control  in  1912,  not  the  company  itself.  He 
will  also  probably  point  to  the  fact  that 
after  ten  years  of  this  working  agreement 
the  Lanchow  Company  have  the  right  to  buy 
out  the  Engineering  and  Mining  Company  at 
a  price  to  be  mutually  agreed  upon  between 
them.  These  are  subtle  points  which  may 
mean  much,  or  may  mean  little.  Major 
Nathan  is  a  great  diplomatist,  and  there  is 
no  need  to  argue  the  niceties  of  these  ques- 
tions. It  will  be  sufficient  to  reply  that 
the  Chinese  have  also  the  right  to  buy  back 
the  South  Manchurian  Railway  out  of  Japanese 
hands,  but  when  the  time  comes  for  them  to 
do  so,  they  will  probably  find  the  price  to  be 
paid  for  that  line  somewhat  of  a  stumbling- 
block.  Already  the  Japanese  have  applied 
for  an  extension  of  their  lease  over  the  railway 
in  question. 

After  the  formation  of  the  Kailan  Mining 
Administration  had  been  agreed  to  in  prin- 
ciple,   it    took    some    months    of    negotiation 

71 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

to  arrange  the  final  condition  of  the  compact. 
There  was  to  be  a  dehberating  board,  half 
Chinese  and  half  foreign,  to  manage  its  affairs. 
Major  Nathan  was  to  be  its  General  Manager, 
but  practical  control  was  reserved  to  foreign 
hands,  not  Chinese  hands.  That  is  the  im- 
portant thing  to  remember  about  it.  The 
Lanchow  Company  were  to  receive  large 
sums  of  cash,  besides  which  they  were  to  have 
the  option  of  buying  out  the  Engineering  and 
Mining  Company  at  the  end  of  ten  years.  The 
profits,  up  to  the  sum  of  £300,000  per  annum, 
were  to  be  divided  between  the  two  com- 
panies in  the  ratio  of  60%  to  the  Anglo- 
Belgian  Company  and  40%  to  the  Lanchow 
Company.  When  that  sum  should  be  ex- 
ceeded, they  would  share  in  equal  proportions. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  profits  were 
£295,000  for  the  first  year  of  the  Kailan 
Mining  Administration's  life. 

It  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  our  old 
friend  Chang  Yen  Mow  received  1,000,000  taels 
at  the  time  of  the  amalgamation,  in  settle- 
ment of  all  claims  he  had  or  thought  he  had 
against  the  company.  Unfortunately,  the  poor 
old  man  did  not  live  to  enjoy  this  money  more 
than  a  few  months.     He  died  in  May  1913. 

Now  it  can  do  no  harm  if  we  speculate  a 
little  as  to  what  might  have  happened  if 
events  had  taken  rather  a  different  course 
in  1910  and  1911.     It  was  then  that  arrange- 

72 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

ments  were  almost  concluded  by  the  Chinese 
Government  to  buy  out  the  Chinese  Engineer- 
ing and  Mining  Company.  About  the  same 
time  Lord  Kitchener  was  travelling  in  China 
and  adding  to  his  collection  of  china.  It  is 
commonly  reported  that  our  great  military 
organizer  actually  wished  to  lend  his  services 
to  the  Chinese  Government  to  help  reorganize 
her  armies,  as  he  then  had  no  employment, 
and,  if  he  had  been  permitted  to  undertake 
such  a  task,  we  might  have  seen  some  very 
curious  developments. 

It  is  extraordinary  how  wonderfully  tena- 
cious the  Chinese  as  a  nation  are.  When  a 
foreigner  has  secured  some  mining  or  other 
right  which  the  Chinese  Government  con- 
siders should  never  have  passed  out  of  Chinese 
hands,  no  effort  is  spared  by  the  officials  and 
local  gentry  to  harass  and  annoy  the  in- 
truder. There  is  nothing  extraordinary  in 
this  feeling  itself.  The  astonishing  thing  is 
the  pertinacity  with  which  Chinese  public 
opinion  makes  itself  felt. 

In  many  cases  foreign  concession-holders 
have  been  compelled  to  surrender  their  pro- 
perties simply  because  they  found  it  im- 
possible to  work  them.  And  even  if  they 
have  been  strong  enough  to  defy  public 
opinion,  as  the  Chinese  Engineering  and  Mining 
Company  was  able  to  do,  they  will  find  their 
pathway  stony  in  spite  of  big  profits. 

73 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Here  is  an  instance  to  bring  out  this  point. 
In  the  early  days,  before  the  Chinese  Engi- 
neering and  Mining  Company  took  over  from 
the  old  mining  company,  the  present  Peking- 
Mukden  Line  of  the  Chinese  Government  Rail- 
ways was  being  built,  and  both  the  railway 
and  mining  companies  had  a  common  Director- 
General —  Tong  King  Sing.  To  secure  a 
suitable  track,  the  railways  were  empowered 
by  government  to  buy  up  any  ground  they 
might  require  at  a  fair  market-price.  When, 
however,  it  came  to  running  the  track  through 
the  Mining  Company's  property,  deeds  of 
transfer  were  often  not  exchancred  because 
the  two  companies  were  so  intimately  con- 
nected under  their  common  Director-General 
that  a  great  deal  of  giving  and  taking  simply 
depended  upon  his  verbal  order.  Later  on 
Chang  Yen  Mow  was  also  Director- General  to 
both  concerns.  As  a  result,  vague  and  shadowy 
rights  over  certain  pieces  of  land  existed. 

In  course  of  time,  as  we  have  seen,  the  old 
Mining  Company  passed  into  foreign  hands 
under  circumstances  to  which  the  Chinese 
frankly  objected.  The  latter  felt  they  had  lost 
an  invaluable  treasure.  From  their  point  of 
view  they  certainly  had,  but  it  was  to  benefit 
them  later  on.  Their  obstructing  methods 
were,  nevertheless,  set  in  motion.  They  began 
by  taking  commercial  action — setting  up  a 
rival  in  the  Lanchow  Mining  Company. 

74 


RISE  OF  KAILAN  MINING  ADMINISTRATION 

But  though  that  was  a  thorn  in  the  flesh, 
no  purely  Chinese  company  could  be  victorious 
against  British  management.  Meanwhile,  the 
Chinese  Government  Railway  had  become 
quite  separated  from  the  new  Chinese  Engi- 
neering and  Mining  Company,  and  it  was 
very  desirable,  from  the  latter's  point  of 
view,  that  proper  boundaries  should  be  estab- 
lished over  their  now  disputed  lands. 

An  attempt  was  therefore  made  to  bring 
the  railways  to  a  settlement.  But  the  rail- 
ways were  under  Chinese  directors,  and  delay 
after  delay  occurred.  Again  and  again  similar 
attempts  were  made.  Again  and  again  letters 
were  exchanged ;  white  men  thought  they 
were  nearing  a  settlement ;  and  the  matter 
was  indefinitely  put  off. 

If  the  Kailan  Amalgamation  had  not  been 
formed,  we  may  reasonably  doubt  whether 
settlement  would  ever  have  been  effected. 
For  years  the  matter  dragged  on  without 
anything  definite  being  done. 

It  simply  shows  how  clever  Chinese  officials 
are  at  harassing  tactics.  So  long  as  the 
Engineering  and  INIining  Company  represented 
a  foreign  mining  body  in  China,  it  was  part 
of  the  Chinese  policy  to  worry  and  harass 
that  foreign  body. 

Directly  the  Kailan  iNIining  Administration 
was  formed  Chinese  interests  in  the  concern 
became  more  marked,  because  half  its  business 

75 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

was  purely  Chinese  business,  and  because 
half  the  members  of  its  Deliberating  Board 
were  Chinese. 

In  this  way  the  Mining  Company  acquired 
an  influence  with  the  Chinese  official  classes 
for  which  it  had  long  sighed  in  vain.  Now 
the  Kailan  Mining  Administration  looms  large 
on  the  Chinese  industrial  horizon.  It  is  hoped 
that  this  story  will  shed  some  light  upon 
events  which  are  passing  in  China  as  a  whole. 
In  the  writer's  humble  opinion  the  future  is 
perfectly  clear. 

But  any  picture  becomes  confusing  if  you 
stand  too  near  the  canvas.  Try  to  read  big 
events  through  smaller  events,  and  you  will 
see  the  whole  country  unrolling  before  your 
eyes  as  though  it  were  pictured  on  a  map. 
Take  the  history  of  the  Chinese  Engineering 
and  Mining  Company  as  your  map,  and  the 
great  industrial  China  of  to-morrow  will  be 
observed  more  distinctly. 


76 


CHAPTER   V 

china's    future    LIVERPOOL 

Chinwangtao  is  the  only  port  in  North 
China  exclusively  devoted  to  coal.  But  a 
chapter  on  Chinwangtao's  future,  though  appar- 
ently a  simple  matter,  is  not  unlike  speculating 
upon  the  brood  which  will  emerge  from  a 
sitting  of  eggs  before  our  willing  hen  has 
had  time  to  show  what  her  incubating  powers 
may  be.  In  this  case  Chinwangtao  repre- 
sents the  sitting  of  eggs  ;  a  kindly  fate  takes 
the  place  of  our  willing  hen  ;  whilst  a  big 
busy  port  situated  on  the  western  shore  of 
the  Gulf  of  Liaotung  completes  our  analogy 
to  show  what  Chinwangtao  will  some  day 
surely  become,  as  soon  as  its  period  of  incu- 
bation is  over. 

We  propose  to  speculate,  if  you  will,  upon 
the  sea-port's  rosy  future.  We  are,  fortu- 
nately, able  to  do  this  with  some  success, 
owing  to  two  causes  which  have  combined  to 
reduce  its  chances  of  failure  to  a  minimum. 
One   of  these   causes   is   so   powerful   that   it 

77 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

has  never  been  known  to  fail  since  the  world 
began  to  spin.  It  has  always  acted,  and  it 
will  continue  to  do  so  in  the  present  as  in  the 
past— its  name  is  geography,  for  Chinwangtao 
is  remarkably  well  situated  from  a  purely 
geographical  point  of  view. 

The  second  cause  is  more  local,  though  no 
less  powerful.  Its  potentiality  lies  hid  in 
the  name  of  the  Kailan  Mining  Administration. 
Were  time  and  space  available  reams  could 
be  written  about  this  Administration,  about 
the  numbers  of  natives  employed  at  the 
mines,  about  their  equipment  and  so  on ; 
but  as  the  port  of  Chinwangtao  is  the  special 
theme  of  the  present  chapter,  we  will  confine 
ourselves  principally  to  shipping. 

At  its  inception,  then,  the  Mining  Company 
had  six  steamers,  with  a  total  carrying 
capacity  of  8,000  tons,  but  four  of  these 
steamers  have  been  disposed  of  within  the 
last  eleven  years.  As  an  off-set  to  this  de- 
crease, one  new  vessel  has  been  built,  with  a 
carrying  capacity  of  3,150  tons,  whilst  several 
ships  on  long-time  charters  have  been  taken 
over,  amounting  to  11,500  tons,  which  bring 
the  total  tonnage  at  the  Ping  Line's  disposal 
up  to  17,000  tons. 

These  steamers  principally  carry  the  Ad- 
ministration's products  to  the  southern  markets, 
returning  in  most  cases  with  a  general  cargo 
from  Hong  Kong  or  Shanghai  to  Tientsin  or 

78 


CHINA'S  FUTURE  LIVERPOOL 

Chinwangtao.  In  certain  cases  they  bring 
back  no  cargo  at  all,  in  consequence  of  an 
agreement  which  forbids  them  doing  so.  At 
the  latter  port  there  is  berthing  accommo- 
dation for  seven  ships  alongside  either  the 
pier  or  the  breakwater,  where  cargoes  can 
be  loaded  or  unloaded  with  the  utmost  de- 
spatch. 

As  new  markets  are  opened  up,  we  may 
expect  to  see  the  Administration  providing 
itself  with  additional  tonnage,  because  it  has 
lately  stumbled  upon  the  markets  of  Java 
and  the  Philippine  Islands.  There  good  coal, 
good  fire-bricks  and  good  tiles  are  already  in 
demand. 

The  Administration  is,  so  to  speak,  on  the 
spot  to  supply  all  these  good  things.  It  can 
also  supply  them  at  a  quality  little  behind 
that  of  English  products,  but  at  an  infinitely 
more  reasonable  price,  because  propinquity 
and  cheap  labour  enable  it  to  do  so. 

In  time,  therefore,  the  Ping  Line  fleet 
will  increase  in  proportion  to  the  growth  of 
this  southern  trade,  and  even  the  eastern 
shores  of  the  Pacific  may  come  within  its 
sphere  of  operations  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years.  The  world  is  getting  smaller  through 
mobility's  increase;  but  the  Kalian  Ad- 
ministration's world  is  getting  larger.  The 
total  exports  of  coal  or  other  of  the  company's 
products  from  the  ports  of  Chinwangtao  and 

79 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Tongku    during    the    past    seven    years    have 
been  as  follows  : 


1905  . 

.   173,000 

1906  . 

.   175,000 

1907  . 

.   188,000 

1908  . 

.   239,000 

1909  . 

.   405,000 

1910  . 

.   403,000 

1911  . 

.   445,000 

These  figures  speak  for  themselves,  and 
require  no  comment,  but  they  should  be 
carefully  noted  in  view  of  the  big  rise  which 
has  taken  place  in  so  short  a  space  of  time. 

Hitherto  the  port's  record  for  loading  has 
been  2,900  tons  of  coal  in  fourteen  and  a  half 
hours — a  speed  which  tells  its  own  tale  of 
modern  appliances,  of  quick  handling  and 
of  good  management.  But  apart  from  the 
assistance  rendered  by  powerful  cranes  or 
up-to-date  derricks,  the  truck-lines  stretching 
along  the  top  of  the  breakwater  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  a  ship  may  be  loaded  and  unloaded 
at  the  same  moment  if  necessity  shall  demand 
such  expedition. 

As  a  port  Chinwangtao  is  unquestionably 
coming  rapidly  to  the  front,  for  the  Mes- 
sageries  Maritimes  frequently  call  there,  as 
did  also  the  Chargeurs  ReUnis  before  the 
suspension    of   their  Round    the  World    Ser- 

80 


CHINA'S  FUTURE  LIVERPOOL 

vice.  The  H.  A.  Line,  the  P.  &  O., 
the  Blue  Funnel,  and  other  British  lines 
have  called  in  the  past  with  large  inward 
cargoes  for  points  on  the  Chinese  Government 
railways,  besides  which  steamers  from  Japan 
call  there  regularly,  transporting  about  100,000 
tons  of  coal  annually  for  coke-making  pur- 
poses. 

Chinwangtao  is  situated  on  the  western 
coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Liaotung,  lat.  39°  55'  N., 
long.  119°38'E.  It  is  a  port  of  great  import- 
ance to  Oregon  lumber-shippers  trading  with 
North  China,  owing  to  its  facilities  for  bunker- 
ing. It  is  only  twelve  hours  from  Taku  Bar, 
and  within  easy  reach  of  Tsingtau,  Chefoo, 
Newchwang,   and  other  northern  ports. 

The  harbour  offers  safe  anchorage  to 
steamers  drawing  22  ft.  of  water,  and  even 
vessels  of  deeper  draught  may  be  grounded 
without  injury  upon  its  soft  mud  bottom. 
It  can  be  stated  without  exaggeration  that 
vessels  drawing  as  much  as  24  ft.  have  fre- 
quently discharged  with  safety. 

In  a  word,  Chinwangtao  is  the  ideal  harbour 
in  North  China  for  ocean-going  steamers,  and 
when  its  great  advantages  are  more  generally 
known  it  cannot  fail  to  become  a  place  of  the 
very  first  importance.  It  is  only  five  miles 
from  the  main  Peking-Mukden  track  of  the 
Chinese  Government  railways.  With  these  it 
is  connected  at  Tongho  by  a  five-mile  branch 

Q  81 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

line.  Goods  can  thus  be  loaded  straight  from 
ships  into  cars  and  transported  in  every 
direction  with  a  minimum  of  man-handling, 
with  a  minimum  of  loss  incidental  to  theft  or 
breakage,  and  with  a  minimum  of  time 
wasted.  As  the  world  spins  on  faster  and 
faster  we  cannot  fail  to  see  how  rapidly  time 
is  being  churned  into  money,  and  therefore 
the  truism  that  "  time  saved  is  money  saved  " 
applies  with  great  effect  to  this  new-born 
Liverpool  of  North  China. 

But — and  there  is  always  a  little  "  but,'* 
or  some  other  sort  of  fly  in  the  ointment — 
Dalny,  as  a  rival  to  Chinwangtao,  must 
not  be  lost  sight  of.  As  we  have  seen,  Chin- 
wangtao is  only  five  miles  from  the  main 
track  of  the  Chinese  Government  Peking- 
Mukden  railway-line,  but  it  is  not  the  pro- 
perty of  that  line.  Dalny,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  controlled  by  the  Southern  Man- 
churian  Railway,  which  owns  the  Fushun  Col- 
lieries. 

Herein  lies  a  great  hindrance  to  the  rapid 
rise  of  Chinwangtao.  When,  however,  the 
Pekin-Jehol-Mukden  line  becomes  a  reality, 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  a  line  will  even- 
tually join  up  Jehol  and  Chinwangtao.  When 
this  happens,  Chinwangtao's  progress  will 
receive  a  considerable  acceleration  of  momen- 
tum, for  the  country  between  Jehol  and  the 
sea  is  rich. 

82 


CHINA'S  FUTURE  LIVERPOOL 

At  present  Dalny  is  in  a  strong  position. 
It  taps  a  rich  bean  country.  It  is  a  big, 
flourishing  port.  It  has  no  railway  obstruction 
to  contend  with.  Its  waters  are  ice-free  and 
deep.  These  matters  will  have  a  great  bear- 
ing upon  the  control  of  the  China  Sea's 
coal-trade  when  the  rivalry  between  British- 
and  Japanese-controlled  mines  becomes 
acute. 

If  we  set  Dalny  aside,  it  will  be  evident 
that  Chinwangtao  has  everything  in  its  favour, 
quite  apart  from  any  consideration  of  its 
sands  or  advantages  as  a  summer  sea- side 
resort. 

On  these  sands,  perhaps,  the  word  New- 
castle will  be  written  by  the  finger  of  Time 
some  day,  or  maybe  our  ears  can  already 
distinguish  the  new-born  cry  of  some  mighty 
Oriental  Liverpool,  bustling  and  busy,  a  centri- 
fugal and  centripetal  force  for  the  ships  of 
the  China  seas. 

If  Chinwangtao's  propinquity  to  the  mines, 
to  the  corn- lands  of  Manchuria,  and  to  the 
Chinese  Government  railways  cannot  offer 
it  these  rosy  dreams,  we  know  of  no  place 
in  North  China,  except  Dalny,  which  can 
aspire  to  them,  seeing  that  Chinwangtao  is 
one  of  the  few  northern  ports  which  is  not 
ice-bound  and  idle  during  the  long,  grey 
winter  months.  Hitherto  the  Ping  Line's 
port   has   been   more   than  a  little   hampered 

83 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

by  several  causes.  Some  of  these  are  capable 
of  immediate  remedy.  Others  can  only 
be  removed  by  the  healing  hand  of  time. 
Into  this  latter  category  we  must  put,  first 
of  all,  the  juxtaposition  of  Tientsin,  which 
enjoys  the  advantage  of  being  at  the  junction 
not  only  of  the  railways,  but  also  of  the 
waterways  of  North  China. 

This  juxtaposition  of  the  fast-growing  river 
port  has  certainly  dwarfed  the  rise  of  the 
sea-port,  and  made  it  appear  to  the  casual 
observer  as  though  the  latter  were  almost 
standing  still.  It  is,  however,  a  simple  matter 
to  prove  the  fallacy  of  that  view,  as  well  as 
to  show  by  hard  concrete  facts  that  the  rapid 
development  of  Chinwangtao  is  simply  a 
question  of  time  plus  judicious  handling. 
Let  us  suppose  that  in  the  near  future  ocean- 
going steamers  will  find  it  cheaper  and  more 
expeditious  for  them  to  come  straight  to 
Chinwangtao  instead  of  stopping  at  Shanghai; 
will  they  not  come  to  the  northern  port  ? 
Let  us  suppose  Chinwangtao  takes  advantage 
of  its  geographical  position  to  sap  from  Newch- 
wang  the  southern  import  trade  which  passes 
Tientsin.  In  conjunction  with  the  railway 
it  could  do  so  and  will  do  so,  but  the  railway 
is  not  going  to  come  to  terms  until  Chinwang- 
tao compels  it  to  do  so  by  becoming  more 
active  through  increased  trade.  This  in- 
creased trade  depends  largely  on  the  ability 

84 


CHINA'S  FUTURE  LIVERPOOL 

of    the     port     authorities    to     attract     more 
shipping. 

Then  we  shall  see  the  railway  offering  in 
return  some  of  the  export  trade,  beans,  etc., 
— which  of  late  years  has  left  the  country 
through  Newchwang  or  Dalny.  Then  we 
shall  see  Chinwangtao  fulfilling  some  of  the 
dreams  we  have  already  foreshadowed ;  for 
it  now  handles  the  entire  traffic  of  the  Kailan 
Mines,  which  puts  it  in  a  very  strong  position ; 
besides  which  it  enjoys  the  extra  advantage  of 
coaling  facilities  superior  to  any  other  harbour 
on  the  whole  China  coast. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  oil  import 
trade  has  lately  migrated  to  Newchwang, 
because  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  in  its 
own  interests,  sells  its  oil  cheaper  there  than 
at  any  other  port,  whilst  the  Manchurian 
grain  export  trade  has  never  yet  been  attracted 
to  Chinwangtao,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
there  are  no  buyers  on  the  spot  there.  This, 
no  doubt,  has  been  partly  due  to  Chinwangtao 
having  hitherto  been  a  foreign-managed  port 
instead  of  a  Chinese-foreign  managed  port. 

But  for  any  big  undertaking  to  succeed 
in  China,  Chinese  and  foreigners  must  be 
associated.  The  foreigner  stops  a  leakage  of 
expenditure  ;  the  Chinese  greases  the  wheels. 
Neither  can  stand  in  China  without  the  other's 
help,  but  together  they  become  as  creative 
as  they  are  dynamic. 

85 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Now  the  awakening  of  Chinwangtao  will 
come  about  through  interesting  Chinese  buyers 
and  merchants  in  the  port,  as  much  as  through 
attracting  ocean-going  vessels  to  make  use  of 
its  harbour  and  piers.  But  every  catalysis 
depends  upon  the  introduction  of  the  catalyst, 
and  so  it  is  impossible  to  prophesy  exactly 
when  the  transformation  from  slow  growth 
to  roaring  activity  will  take  place  in  this 
ice-free  northern  seaport.  When  that  good 
moment  arrives,  Chinwangtao  will  presumably 
still  have  the  double  driving  forces  of  the 
Kailan  Mining  Administration  and  of  geo- 
graphy behind  it. 

It  will  become  a  residential  place.  Money 
will  circulate  in  proportion  as  business  people 
come  to  live  within  a  three-mile  radius  of  its 
bustling  quays.  And,  lastly,  riparian  Tientsin 
will  find  herself,  before  very  long,  making  a 
curtsy  to  her  Cinderella  sister  of  the  Gulf 
of  Liaotung.  These  being  our  prognostica- 
tions for  the  future,  let  us  stroll  down  to  the 
breakwater  and  see  what  there  is  to  be  seen 
in  Chinwangtao  to-day. 

It  is  a  raw-cold  morning  in  November,  and 
amongst  the  other  shipping  we  espy  one 
vessel — a  P.  &  O.  flying  the  blue  peter — 
which  attracts  our  curiosity  more  than  a 
little.  It  attracts  us  because  we  never  ex- 
pected to  see  it  there,  and  because  there  is  an 
air  about  it  utterly  unlike  that  of  the  three 

86 


CHINA'S  FUTURE  LIVERPOOL 

or  four  merchant  steamers  loading  up  with 
coal  or  brick  or  some  other  cargo  for  warmer 
southern  ports.  It  is  a  hired  transport,  and 
on  hurrying  towards  her  before  she  sails 
we  arrive  just  in  time  to  say  good-bye  to  a 
regiment  of  British  "  Tommies,"  who  are 
evidently  very  loth  to  turn  their  backs  for 
ever  upon  the  flowery  land  and  upon  the 
American  friends  they  made  there.  We  wave 
our  handkerchiefs.     The  vessel  glides  off. 

Then  we  turn  to  examine  the  breakwater 
upon  which  we  are  standing,  and  find  it  runs 
out  first  of  all  650  ft.  at  right-angles  to  the 
shore,  after  which  it  curves  westward  to  a 
radius  of  750  ft.,  its  extremity  being  980  ft. 
long  and  tangential  to  this  curve.  The  first 
650  ft.  is  a  rubble  embankment,  wide  enough 
for  two  railway-tracks  laid  to  14-foot  centres. 
The  remaining  portion  is  a  framed  wooden 
structure  with  parallel  rows  of  piles  put  down 
every  10  ft.  at  right- angles  to  the  centre  line 
of  the  breakwater.  On  the  inner  side,  steel 
joist  piles,  spliced  to  jarrah  tops  to  form  the 
superstructure,  are  spaced  at  5-foot  centres 
and  driven  down  to  rock  through  16  ft.  of 
yellow  clay,  sand,  and  decomposed  rock. 

Immediately  behind  these  piles  we  notice 
a  number  of  80  lb.  steel  rail  piles  driven  along 
the  face  to  retain  the  rubble  stonework,  which 
forms  the  hearting  of  the  structure.  The 
piles  are  braced  together,  and  form  a  strong 

87 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

support  to  the  railway  tracks  which  run 
along  the  top  of  the  breakwater  on  stout 
longitudinal  timbers.  At  the  quay-level  this 
breakwater  is  66  ft.  wide.  On  the  seaward 
side  we  notice  it  has  a  flat  rubble  slope  covered 
with  5 -ton  concrete  blocks,  serving,  doubtless, 
as  a  protection  against  heavy  gales.  True, 
the  work  as  a  whole  does  not  appeal  very 
strongly  to  our  sesthetic  senses,  but  we  feel, 
nevertheless,  that  it  is  durable,  strong,  and 
well  equipped  with  cranes  and  trollies  to 
ensure  rapidity  in  loading  any  vessels  which 
may  take  up  their  berths  alongside. 

Even  as  we  stand  watching,  two  or  three 
vessels  are  unloading  close  at  hand,  whilst 
another  is  being  loaded  at  the  structure  just 
across  the  harbour,  which  we  rightly  take 
to  be  the  pier.  From  where  we  are  standing 
it  would  seem  as  though  this  pier  were  con- 
structed very  similarly  to  the  breakwater. 
It  starts  at  a  point  400  ft.  to  the  north-west 
of  the  landward  end  of  the  breakwater,  and 
projects  out  in  a  south-westerly  direction 
into  the  sea.  Between  the  breakwater  and 
this  pier  the  harbour  mouth  is  907  ft.  across, 
and  the  area  of  water  embayed  between 
these  two  structures  is  altogether  something 
nearly  approaching  thirty  acres  of  smooth 
anchorage,  safe  for  loading,  safe  for  unloading, 
and  very  attractive  to  the  storm-tossed  skipper 
who  has  all  but  lost  his  ship. 

88 


CHINA'S  FUTURE  LIVERPOOL 

We  are  quite  satisfied  with  what  we  have 
seen  so  far,  but  at  the  same  time  we  came 
out  to  ask  questions,  and  are  not  prepared 
to  go  back  to  breakfast  until  we  have  gleaned 
all  the  information  there  is  to  be  had.  "  I 
wonder  what  the  bottom  of  the  harbour 
consists  of  ?  "  you  ask,  as  we  gaze  thought- 
fully down  at  the  sluggish  November  waters. 
We  thereupon  make  inquiries,  and  are  told 
that  the  depth  in  the  approaches  is  22  ft., 
gradually  shoaling  to  20  ft.  at  low  water, 
whilst  the  sea-bottom  has  all  over  it  a  layer 
of  a  foot  or  more  of  very  soft  mud.  Beneath 
this  layer  of  very  soft  mud  there  are  various 
strata,  commencing  with  5  ft.  of  mud  and 
yellow  clay  ;  then  come  2  ft.  of  stiff  yellow 
clay  and  stones  ;  then  5  ft.  of  very  soft  clay 
and  sand ;  and  finally  2  ft  6  in.  of  decomposed 
rock  and  lime-stone.  Inside  the  harbour  the 
depth  varies  from  18  ft.  to  22  ft.  at  low  water, 
but  the  tides  are  weak  and  irregular,  seldom 
exceeding  half  a  knot  per  hour,  whilst  the 
rise  of  the  tide  is  usually  somewhere  well 
between  5  and  7  ft. 

Our  informant  goes  on  to  tell  us  that 
there  is  no  necessity  to  make  use  of  buoys, 
because  vessels  can  safely  lie  alongside  the 
wharf  and  pier,  as  indeed  we  see  for  ourselves 
they  are  doing. 

The  only  dredger  employed  is  a  small 
"  Priestman's    Grab."     This    works    for    only 

89 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

nine  months  of  the  year — from  the  middle  of 
March  to  the  middle  of  December — and  during 
this  period  the  estimated  quantity  of  material 
dredged  is  3,500  cubic  yards  per  month,  at  a 
cost  of  about  21  Mexican  cents  per  cubic  yard. 
At  present  the  breakwater  can  accommodate 
altogether  five  ships,  the  available  space  for 
berthing  being  as  follows  : 

Berth  No.  3,  for  vessels  275  ft.  long,  has 
18  ft.  at  low  water. 

Berth  No.  4,  for  vessels  330  ft.  long,  has 
20  ft.  at  low  water. 

Berth  No.  5,  for  vessels  500  ft.  long,  has  21  ft. 
at  low  water. 

Berths  Nos.  6  and  7,  for  vessels  600  ft.  long, 
have  21  ft.  at  low  water. 

The  pier,  on  the  other  hand,  is  less  com- 
modious, and  can  only  accommodate  two 
vessels  of  310  ft.,  one  on  its  outer  and  one 
on  its  inner  faces.  These  two  berths  are 
numbered  respectively  No.  1  and  No.  2. 

They  have  each,  approximately,  18  ft.  at 
low  water,  but  all  the  berthing  places  enjoy 
the  extra  advantage  of  a  soft  mud  bottom, 
so  that  vessels  of  even  greater  depth  can 
face  the  possibility  of  grounding  at  low  tide 
without  fear  of  getting  their  bottoms  knocked 
out  by  hard,  unsympathetic  rocks. 

However,  even  this  assurance  would  seem 
hardly  to  satisfy  the  present  energetic  owners 
of  the   port,   for  they   are   now   effecting   its 

90 


CHINA'S  FUTURE  LIVERPOOL 

improvement  by  dredging  the  harbour  ap- 
proach to  23  ft.,  and  by  deepening  the  berths 
alongside  the  breakwater  to  25  ft.  at  low 
water.  Such  a  scheme  will  increase  more 
than  ever  the  facilities  for  berthing  steamers 
promptly. 

The  outer  berths  will  then  be  occupied  by 
ocean-going  steamers  and  worked  independ- 
ently, without  causing  delay  or  inconvenience 
to  vessels  berthed  in  the  inner  ones.  Then 
again,  the  harbour  is  so  well  protected  that 
berthing  operations  can  always  be  carried  on 
in  any  ordinary  weather. 

"What,  then,"  you  naturally  ask,  "  is  to 
prevent  this  place  going  ahead  ?  " 

The  answer  is :  "  Nothing,  except  Dalny,'* 
and  in  time  to  come  there  will  probably  be 
room  for  both  ports  to  expand  side  by  side. 

Chinwangtao  is  well  situated  midway  be- 
tween Mukden  and  Peking.  Newchwang  lies 
to  the  eastward  at  a  distance  of  222  miles. 
Tongshan  and  Tientsin  lie  to  the  west ;  the 
former  at  a  distance  of  84  miles,  while  the 
latter  is  165  miles  away,  measuring  space  by 
the  only  long-distance  measure  left  to  us, 
by  mobility — that  is  to  say,  by  the  railway-line. 

Now  we  must  wait  for  Chinwangtao  to 
increase  in  importance  and  develop  in  pro- 
portion to  the  growth  of  factories  and  trade 
and  industries  along  the  whole  coast-land 
from    Taku    to    Shanhaikwan.      Along    that 

91 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

coast-land  stretches  the  biggest  active  coal- 
field of  North  China,  and  we  all  know  from 
studying  the  development  of  other  countries 
what  wonderful  powers  coal  possesses  for 
incubating  new  industries  and  for  encouraging 
new  factories. 

We  all  know  equally  well  that  industry  and 
commerce  go  hand  in  hand.  Therefore  we 
may  prophesy  once  more,  as  we  hinted  before, 
the  port  of  Chinwangtao  is  going  to  become 
not  only  the  centrifugal,  but  also  the  centri- 
petal commercial  force  for  the  ships  of  the 
North  China  seas,  though  how  long  the  egg 
will  take  to  incubate  we  cannot  at  present 
tell. 


92 


CHAPTER   VI 

TO    THE    CONCESSION-HUNTER 

It  may  be  an  unpleasant  reflection,  but  it  is 
none  the  less  a  fact,  that  the  performance  of 
hard  work  in  this  world  does  not  usually  carry 
with  it  the  acquisition  of  riches.  The  hard 
worker  will  usually  make  a  living,  but  that 
is  all.  It  is  a  smart  deal  done  once,  or  may 
be  two  or  three  strokes  of  luck,  which  bring 
a  man  real  wealth.  In  this  chapter  the 
writer  proposes  to  address  himself  to  the 
man  who  knows  very  little  about  coal- mining, 
but  who  has  seen  his  friends  getting  fat  on 
this  or  that  mining  concession,  and  feels  he 
would  like  to  try  his  fortune,  too,  if  only  he 
knew  the  way  to  set  about  it. 

If  it  be  true  that  new  Chinese  Government 
regulations  for  the  granting  of  concessions 
may  be  expected  any  day,  then  we  shall 
probably  see  young  men  coming  out  to  China 
to  secure  mining  land,  and  the  few  hints 
given  here  may  be  found  of  service  to  them. 
But  we  must  first  take  a  peep  at  China's 
present  mining  laws. 

93  . 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

In  no  part  of  the  world  have  mining  laws 
been  framed  on  such  comic- opera  lines. 
They  aim  at  "  saving  the  Chinaman's  face  " 
in  a  way  which  is  perfectly  ludicrous.  At  the 
present  moment  there  is  a  prospect  of  change, 
but  some  relics  of  the  old  system  will  probably 
hamper  would-be  concessionaires  for  many 
years  to  come. 

Hitherto  China  has  always  aimed  at  de- 
ceiving herself  that  the  control  of  any  mining 
proposition  conducted  within  her  territories 
remains  in  Chinese  hands.  On  account  of 
this  deception  she  has  insisted  that  applica- 
tions for  a  mining  concession  should  always 
apportion  at  least  60  %  of  the  capital  involved 
to  a  Chinese  partner.  This,  of  course,  has 
meant  that  a  European  could  only  obtain  a 
mining  concession  in  China  through  co-opera- 
tion with  some  Chinese  gentleman  upon  whom 
he  could  rely. 

It  takes  no  stretch  of  imagination  to  sup- 
pose that  the  European  has  been  accustomed 
to  say,  "  This  regulation  of  yours  is  all  very 
well,  but  I  do  not  put  any  money  into  a 
Chinese  mine  unless  I  have  control."  The 
Chinese  partner  smiles  and  rephes,  "  Oh,  that 
can  be  easily  managed,"  and  it  is  managed, 
and  has  been  managed,  but  this  is  the  way 
it  is  done. 

A  Chinese  lawyer  is  sent  for,  and  he  draws 
up   a   petition   in   Chinese,   setting   forth   the 

94 


TO   THE   CONCESSION-HUNTER 

names  of  the  two  applicants — European  and 
Chinese.  He  states  the  shares  they  are  going 
to  have  in  the  prospective  undertaking — 60% 
to  the  Chinese  and  40%  to  the  European. 
He  also  gives  a  description  and  map  of  the 
property  applied  for.  A  copy  of  this  docu- 
ment in  English  is  sent  to  the  British  Minister, 
or,  supposing  the  European  to  be  French,  a 
copy  in  French  is  sent  to  the  French  Minister. 
Then  the  Chinese  applicant  must  journey  up 
to  Peking  with  a  good  bundle  of  dollar-notes 
in  his  hand. 

He  presents  himself  at  the  Board  of  In- 
dustry and  Agriculture,  and  either  secures  his 
concession  and  forgets  to  bring  away  his 
notes,  or  he  fails  in  his  mission,  and  remembers 
to  bring  the  money  away  with  him.  If  he 
secures  the  concession,  the  comic-opera  period 
is  over. 

The  European  concessionaire  sends  for  a 
European  lawyer,  who  draws  up  a  binding 
contract  between  both  partners.  It  is  de- 
liberately stated  in  this  contract  that  the 
capital  is  to  be  equally  divided  between  the 
applicants,  not  in  any  proportion  of  60  to 
40  favourable  to  the  Chinese.  This  contract 
stipulates  for  the  European's  control,  and, 
if  necessary,  it  may  further  stipulate  that, 
in  the  event  of  any  disagreement  arising 
between  the  two  parties,  only  this  contract 
is  to  be  considered  finally  binding. 

95 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

After  both  parties  have  formally  signed 
this  document,  another  journey  is  made  to 
Peking,  where  this  contract  is  handed  to  the 
British  or  French  Minister,  as  the  case  may 
be.  He  compares  the  contract  with  the 
original  petition,  asking  for  the  concession, 
and,  if  he  be  new  to  China,  perhaps  he  may 
raise  his  eyebrows  when  he  sees  the  dis- 
crepancies between  these  interesting  papers. 
If  he  be  an  old  hand  at  Chinese  diplomacy, 
he  will  take  these  little  differences  as  a  matter 
of  course. 

During  the  last  few  months,  so  we  are  told, 
a  distinct  change  has  come  over  these  methods 
in  that  on  three  recent  occasions  the  Chinese 
Government  has  waived  its  hollow  "  face- 
saving "  formula  of  the  60  to  40%  control. 
But  this  departure,  if  true,  is  being  kept 
secret,  and  it  is  not  possible  absolutely  to 
vouch  for  its  authenticity. 

In  the  past  it  has  very  frequently  happened 
that  the  Chinese  concessionaire  was  simply 
a  figure-head  from  beginning  to  end.  In 
most  cases  he  has  contributed  no  money 
whatsoever  towards  the  concession's  develop- 
ment when  he  has  got  it.  In  other  cases,  he 
may  possibly  have  contributed  a  portion. 

But  we  must  not  move  too  fast.  For  the 
present  we  are  in  the  position  of  the  young 
man  freshly  arrived  off  the  steamer  who  knows 
very  little  about  the  country  he  has  come  to. 

96 


TO  THE   CONCESSION-HUNTER 

His  first  object  will  naturally  be  to  get 
into  touch  with  the  right  people,  both  Chinese 
and  foreigners,  who  can  tell  him  of  likely 
ground  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place  he  chooses 
for  his  field  of  action.  For  instance,  there  is 
much  valuable  coal  land  in  the  hills  west  of 
Peking,  which  is  only  awaiting  development. 

If  a  line  of  railway  is  built  between  Peking 
and  Jehol  there  is  yet  more.  We  would 
not  recommend  anybody  to  go  too  far  in- 
land, even  if  there  should  be  railway  facilities 
near  a  promising  property,  because  the  hos- 
tility of  the  local  gentry  may  prevent  work 
being  done  after  the  concession  is  actually 
obtained. 

In  the  interim,  while  our  friend  is  making  the 
acquaintance  of  white  men  and  Chinese,  he 
might  spend  a  portion  of  his  time  on  excur- 
sions into  the  country,  accompanied  by  a 
Chinese  teacher. 

After  six  months  of  fairly  steady  work,  he 
will  have  obtained  a  smattering  of  the  lan- 
guage, and  can  then  make  other  trips  by 
himself.  In  course  of  time  he  will  hit  upon 
something  he  really  believes  to  be  promising, 
or  maybe  some  Chinese  country  friends  will 
ask  him  to  take  up  a  concession  upon  land 
they  own.  He  accordingly  secures  an  exploring 
permit  and  gets  the  best  foreign  expert  he 
can  find  to  report  upon  the  ground  in  question. 
This  expert  will  make  a  survey,  and  will  give 
H  97 


t'ORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

as  much  information  as  possible.  This  done, 
our  young  friend  is  able  to  go  through  the 
procedure  already  indicated  of  getting  a  joint 
concession  for  himself  and  a  Chinese  partner. 

Of  course,  all  this  demands  the  expenditure 
of  some  time  and  some  money,  but  the  same 
thing  must  be  said  of  nearly  every  other  walk 
of  life  in  which  a  man  seeks  rapid  wealth. 

This  brings  us  to  the  point  where  the 
concession  has  actually  been  obtained,  and 
it  then  becomes  a  question  of  selling  the 
mining  rights  to  a  syndicate  formed  to  work 
the  property,  or  of  working  the  property 
himself.  In  either  case  a  very  careful  con- 
sideration of  local  factors  comes  into  the 
calculation  at  once.  How  many  coal-seams 
are  there  ?  and  how  many  of  them  are  going 
to  be  payable  ? 

In  all  likelihood  the  coal  mine  is  an  old  one. 
In  this  case  the  workings  will  probably  have 
extended  into  the  coal,  so  that  it  has  become 
badly  disintegrated.  In  some  places  the  full 
thickness  of  the  coal  may  not  have  been 
mined.  In  other  places  the  little  persistence 
of  the  Chinese  workings  in  certain  beds  may 
point  to  their  relative  unimportance.  Pre- 
sumably analyses  and  practical  tests  will 
already  have  been  made,  and  it  may  be 
possible  to  class  the  coal  either  as  anthracite 
or  as  a  good  steaming  household  coal  that 
makes  good  coke.     If  the  mine  is  an  old  one, 

98 


TO   THE   CONCESSION-HUNTER 

there  will  be  one  or  more  shafts  of  a  diameter 
of  8  or  9  ft.,  and  they  will  be  found  to  incline 
at  some  angle  of  slope,  but  they  will  not  be 
vertical,  for  John  Chinaman,  the  miner,  has 
a  great  objection  to  entering  a  hole  in  the 
ground  from  which  he  cannot  run  out  easily 
should  trouble  of  any  description  overtake 
him. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  there  is  sure  to 
be  a  main  tunnel,  about  6  ft.  in  cross-section, 
running  along  the  coal-bed  in  a  winding  sort 
of  way.  At  irregular  intervals,  branching  off 
from  this  main  tunnel,  there  will  be  side 
tunnels. 

The  Chinese,  as  a  rule,  work  about  half 
the  thickness  of  coal  in  any  one  tunnel. 
These  tunnels  are  then  allowed  to  cave,  when 
new  tunnels  are  driven  into  the  caved  coal- 
bed.  By  this  process  most  of  the  coal  may 
be  removed  at  certain  spots.  As  a  rule,  the 
coal  is  cut  and  broken  down  from  the  heading 
by  picks,  after  which  it  is  shovelled  into 
baskets,  which  may  be  pushed  along  the  coal- 
dirt  roadway  in  primitive  trucks  until  the 
shaft  is  reached.  Here  the  coal  is  probably 
thrown  into  a  bigger  basket,  and  hauled  to 
the  surface  by  a  windlass  worked  by  man- 
power. 

In  a  mine  of  this  description  the  questions 
of  drainage,  of  pumping,  and  of  timbering 
may  become  of  just  as  much  importance  as 

99 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

the  question  of  building  a  branch  hne  to  the 
nearest  railway. 

There  is  sure  to  be  a  little  water  flowing 
into  the  shaft,  so  a  pumping  plant  of  some 
description  is  an  absolute  necessity.  Me- 
chanical ventilation  will  also  have  to  be  care- 
fully considered. 

If  the  surrounding  country  is  sparsely 
covered  with  trees,  the  expenses  of  mining 
this  property  will  mount  up  considerably, 
because  timber  would  not  only  be  expensive 
to  buy,  but  the  cost  of  its  transport  would  be 
a  heavy  charge  on  the  concessionaire's  pocket. 

Should  a  branch-line  be  found  impracticable, 
as  often  happens  in  hilly  country,  it  might 
be  possible  to  run  an  aerial  rope-way  to  the 
foot  of  the  hills.  In  addition  to  the  con- 
sideration of  all  the  items  enumerated  above, 
sight  must  not  be  lost  of  the  local  markets, 
the  proximity  to  the  sea,  the  local  labour 
supply,  the  cost  of  labour,  the  selling-price 
of  coal  in  the  nearest  market,  and  the  minimum 
foreign  staff  which  will  be  necessary  to  exploit 
the  concession  to  its  fullest  extent. 

After  all  these  matters  have  been  carefully 
gone  into,  one  or  two  small  considerations  will 
be  found  to  be  operating  to  the  mine-owner's 
advantage  which  many  a  mine-owner  on  the 
South  Wales  coal-fields  would  gladly  welcome 
if  he  had  the  chance.  For  example,  the 
concessionaire    is   not   hampered   by   govern- 

100 


TO   THE  CONCESSION-HUNTER 

ment  mining  inspectors,  nor  by  Acts  of 
Parliament  enjoining  an  eight-hours  day  or 
compensation  for  total  or  partial  disable- 
ment. It  is  necessary,  of  course,  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  the  local  peasantry,  but 
John  Chinaman  is  not  a  difficult  person  to 
handle  on  the  whole.  He  is  good-natured 
as  a  rule,  and  firmness,  justice,  and  the  air 
of  a  Grand  Seigneur  are  influences  he  always 
respects. 

It  is  never  necessary  to  sink  two  shafts, 
because  China  has  not  yet  had  her  Hartley 
disaster.  In  a  mining  sense  she  is  hardly 
yet  out  of  her  cradle.  All  that  is  necessary  is 
one  shaft  sunk  at  an  inclined  angle.  A 
hundred  feet  of  such  a  shaft,  rectangular, 
9  ft.  by  8  ft.,  might  cost  perhaps  $2,000. 
Prices  naturally  vary  very  much  with  the 
locality.  In  Shantung  to  sink  a  shaft  8  ft. 
by  7  ft.  the  contractor  usually  gets  from 
13  to  14  dollars  per  foot  sunk. 

A  small  winding  engine  with  a  pumping 
plant  completes  the  list  of  urgent  require- 
ments, but,  of  course,  it  is  impossible  to  give 
any  estimate  for  these  items  until  it  be  known 
what  sort  of  machinery  it  is  proposed  to  set 
up.  Native-worked  mines  usually  dispense 
with  the  pump.  Instead  they  evacuate  what 
water  comes  into  the  shaft  by  bailing  it  up 
by  a  chain  of  men  using  leather  buckets  from 
one  little  stage  to  another. 

lOX 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 


For  working  on  quite  a  small  scale  a  rough 
order  for  machinery  and  materials  might  read 
somewhat  as  follows  : 


Cost 

1     small     hoisting-engine,     10-in. 

TlB. 

diam.,  able  to  raise 

1 J  tons 

.     1,500 

1  9-in.  pump  for  double  action 

.     1,500 

1  5 -ft.  diam.  steel  fan   . 

.     1,750 

1  8-ft.  lathe 

,                     , 

500 

1  drilling- machine 

«                    •                     * 

500 

2  coils  of  j-in.  steel 

ropes 

100  shovels 

• 

100  coal- picks 

• 

50  stone- picks 

• 

50  5-lb.  hammers 

. 

50  8-lb.  hammers 

, 

15  10-lb.  hammers 

, 

, 

.    2,500 

Anvils 

. 

Angle-iron  . 

. 

Octagon-iron 

. 

4  signal- bells 

, 

3  lifting- jacks 

. 

6  crow-bars 

• 

Timbers  and  materials 
Total  cost 


2,000 
10,250 


These  figures  are  only  inserted  to  enable 
the  reader  to  form  a  rough  idea  of  the  cost 
of  working  quite  a  small  Chinese  coal  pro- 
position.    They  must   be   taken   as   a   guide, 

log 


TO  THE   CONCESSION-HUNTER 

and  that  is  all.     Now  let  us  turn  to  other 
considerations. 

Rumour  has  decided  that  Eous  Chang 
and  Liu  Chien  have  been  discussing  plans 
for  a  systematic  exploitation  of  China's 
latent  mineral  resources.  They  are,  of  course, 
without  capital  with  which  to  do  anything 
very  much,  and  the  lines  upon  which  they 
propose  setting  about  their  project  seem  still 
to  savour  of  the  determination  to  keep  Chinese 
mining  very  much  in  Chinese  hands ;  but  it  is 
satisfactory  to  know  that  the  Board  of  Agri- 
culture and  Industry  is  at  last  making  a 
beginning. 

Three  organizations  are  now  being  formed — 
namely,  the  Mining  Academy,  the  Prospecting 
Corps,  and  the  National  Mining  Association. 

The  Mining  Academy  will  be  attached  to 
the  Mining  Department  of  the  Ministry  of 
Industry  and  Commerce.  It  will  take  stu- 
dents who  have  passed  the  middle  school 
course,  and  after  a  three  years'  training  they 
will  be  sent  out  to  complete  their  studies 
in  the  field. 

The  Geology  Department  of  the  Peking 
University  will  co-operate  with  this  academy 
in  the  training  of  these  young  mining  experts. 
It  is  proposed  that  the  academy  shall  have 
one  president  and  four  professors.  Two  of 
these  are  to  be  foreigners  and  two  Chinese. 
For    half   the    year    these    professors    arc    to 

103 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

teach,  and  the  other  half-year  is  to  be  spent 
by  them  in  active  prospecting. 

Thirty  students  will  begin  their  studies  at 
this  academy  as  soon  as  practicable.  They 
will  be  divided  into  two  classes— the  mining 
class  and  the  geology  class.  Students  who 
graduate  will  be  granted  the  degree  of  M.E., 
and  will  be  entitled  to  join  the  prospecting 
corps. 

We  may  suppose  that  the  title  M.E.  repre- 
sents that  most  untruthful  person — the  mining 
expert.  If  this  be  so,  it  is  to  be  hoped  these 
young  Chinese  gentlemen  will  be  carefully 
instructed  in  the  meaning  of  the  letters 
TRUTH.  No  nation  hitherto  has  been  able 
to  produce  a  mining  expert  of  the  George 
Washington  type.  If  China  can  produce 
this  type  from  her  young  scholars,  she  will  have 
performed  a  bigger  work  than  the  building 
of  the  great  wall. 

The  president  and  four  professors  of  the 
Mining  Academy  will  be  the  heads  of  the 
prospecting  corps.  The  object  of  this  corps 
is  to  instruct  graduates  in  actual  field-work. 
They  are  to  prospect  in  the  various  provinces, 
send  in  reports,  and  draw  up  plans  for  de- 
veloping mines.  These  reports  will  be  ren- 
dered to  the  Chief  of  the  Mining  Department 
for  consideration. 

When  these  arrangements  are  in  proper 
working  order,  there  will  always  be  two  pro- 

104 


TO  THE  CONCESSION-HUNTER 

fessors  in  the  field,  and  close  touch  will  thus 
be  kept  between  the  academy  and  the  pros- 
pecting corps. 

Of  course,  the  first  important  matter  for 
China  to  take  in  hand  before  doing  anything 
else  is  to  make  a  really  reliable  geological 
survey.  Nothing  of  the  kind  has  yet  been 
attempted,  and  the  need  for  it  is  most  urgent. 
For  military  purposes,  for  railway  construc- 
tion, and  for  commercial  enterprise  such  a 
work  is  of  the  first  importance. 

This  undertaking  is  also  being  carefully 
considered,  but  it  is  extremely  likely  that  a 
scarcity  of  funds  may  delay  its  completion 
for  some  considerable  time. 

In  addition  to  the  academy  and  the  pros- 
pecting corps  a  National  Mining  Association 
is  being  formed.  This  must  not  be  confused 
with  the  Mining  Union  Association  of  China, 
which  is  also  an  institution  of  recent  birth 
whereby  certain  mining  interests,  including  the 
Kailan  Mining  Administration,  the  Ching 
Hsing  Mines,  the  Pinghsiang  (Han  Yeh  Ping) 
Collieries,  and  half-a-dozen  others  formed 
themselves  into  a  sort  of  Chamber  of  Mines 
to  look  after  their  own  interests.  In  course 
of  time  this  Association  may  possibly  be 
absorbed  within  the  National  Mining  Associa- 
tion, or  perhaps  it  may  not.  It  was  inaugur- 
ated on  March  2nd,  1913.  But  according  to 
present    arrangements    the    members    of   the 

105 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

National  Mining  Association  will  be  drawn 
from  the  proprietors  of  mining  companies, 
those  who  are  engaged  in  mining  work,  re- 
turned students  with  the  M.E.  degree,  and 
capitalists  or  other  parties  who  are  in  close 
connection  with  mining  enterprises. 

Only  within  the  last  year  or  two  have 
Chinese  students  turned  their  attention  to 
mining.  Before  then  they  hastened  to  become 
railway  engineers,  but  they  forgot  medicine 
and  mining.  Lately  they  have  been  wanting 
to  become  mining  engineers,  and  it  may  be 
interesting  to  see  where  it  is  possible  for  a 
Chinese  boy  to  get  some  initial  technical 
instruction. 

At  the  moment  there  are  two  particularly 
good  places — Hongkong  University  and  the 
Tongshan  Engineering  College.  At  both  these 
places  the  facilities  for  getting  a  technical 
education  in  mining  and  engineering  are 
almost  as  good  as  in  England. 

One  is  in  Chili,  and  the  other,  of  course,  is 
at  Hongkong.  The  Tongshan  College  is  right 
on  the  mines.  The  instructors  are  of  British, 
Australian  and  American  nationality,  the 
students  pay  a  small  fee,  the  mines  contri- 
bute a  portion  of  the  expenses,  and  the 
Provincial  Government  pays  the  rest. 

At  Shanghai  there  are  several  industrial 
schools.  At  Tientsin  there  are  several  more. 
There    is   also    the   Peiyang    University.     At 

106 


TO  THE   CONCESSION-HUNTER 

Hankow  there  is  a  scheme  to  establish  the 
Central  University  of  China,  and  certain 
nations  are  considering  the  advisability  of 
diverting  the  sums  due  to  them  on  account 
of  the  Boxer  Indemnity  to  this  good  purpose. 
But  Hankow  itself  has  not  yet  been  rebuilt, 
although  the  Robert  Dollar  Company  con- 
tracted to  lend  money  for  that  purpose.  At 
Taiyuanfu  there  is  also  a  missionary  university, 
where  a  first-class  technical  education  can 
be  obtained  by  the  budding  Chinese  mining 
engineer. 

Owing  to  lack  of  funds  during  the  late 
revolutionary  disturbances,  many  educational 
establishments  in  various  parts  of  China  closed 
their  doors,  but  with  the  return  of  peace  lost 
educational  ground  will  soon  be  made  up,  and 
more  schools,  colleges,  and  universities  will 
help  to  unlock  new  mines. 

We  have  been  compelled  to  digress  into 
these  by-paths,  because  it  was  necessary  that 
the  man  who  wishes  to  mine  in  China  should 
know  something  about  them.  In  the  mean- 
time we  will  imagine  that  our  young  friend 
the  concessionaire  has  been  working  his  coal 
concession  on  a  small  scale  at  a  fair  profit 
for  one  or  two  years.  He  has  got  it  into 
thorough  working  order,  but  his  coal  sales 
have  only  been  local  sales.  He  now  thinks 
of  turning  the  mine  over  to  a  bigger  company, 
with  himself  as  general  manager, 

107 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

His  European  friends  help  him  to  find  the 
money,  debentures  are  issued,  and  he  directs 
his  attention  to  the  oversea  coal  market,  for 
therein  lie  the  big  profits  of  the  Chinese 
coal-mining  fraternity.  He  will  have  to  think 
of  a  railway- si  ding  from  the  shafts  to  the 
nearest  railway.  This  little  line  must  be 
of  the  same  gauge  as  the  railway  upon  which 
his  enterprise  depends,  in  order  that  the  coal- 
trucks  may  run  straight  through  from  the 
pits  to  the  port  selected  for  embarkation. 

The  Chinese  Railway  Company  will  build 
this  siding,  and  will  charge  for  it  a  yearly 
rent  of  fifty  cents  per  foot  run.  It  is  particu- 
larly important  that  the  coal-trucks  should 
run  straight  through  to  the  ship,  because 
Chinese  coal  is  more  friable  than  English 
coal,  and  it  consequently  depreciates  in  value 
with  every  handling  it  receives.  After  the 
railway-siding,  agencies  in  the  coast  ports 
and  ships  must  be  thought  of. 

The  agency  question  is  a  simple  matter, 
but  the  shipping  policy  is  not  so  simple. 
It  requires  keen  insight  into  the  future  to  be 
a  good  shipping  man.  Of  course,  a  line  of 
shipping  will  have  to  be  started  whether 
the  company  decides  to  hire  ships  or  to  run 
its  own  vessels.  In  the  former  case,  the 
freight  market  must  be  carefully  looked  into, 
or  very  heavy  losses  may  result.  If  freights 
are    abnormally    high,   it    would    be    folly  to 

108 


TO  THE  CONCESSION-HUNTER 

charter  a  vessel  at  a  boom  price  on  a  five 
years'  charter,  for  instance.  And  yet  these 
mistakes  are  sometimes  made  by  the  inex- 
perienced shipping  man. 

Then  there  may  be  rivalry  with  other 
shipping  firms  if  passengers  or  cargo  are 
carried  to  pay  the  running  expenses  of  ships 
returning  empty  after  having  discharged  their 
coal. 

It  is  customary  on  the  China  coast  for 
every  vessel  to  carry  a  Chinese  compradore, 
who  is  paid  two  or  three  hundred  dollars  a 
month.  Out  of  this  sum  he  pays  any  claims 
for  damaged  cargo  which  may  be  lodged 
against  his  company.  But  it  often  happens 
that  the  claims  he  has  to  meet  exceed  the 
amount  of  his  salary.  In  any  other  country 
in  the  world  ruin  would  stare  the  poor  man 
in  the  face.  But  in  China  it  is  otherwise. 
Instead  of  becoming  poor  and  worried,  this 
Chinaman  becomes  richer  and  fatter  with 
every  trip  he  makes,  so  that  it  may  be  safely 
inferred  he  finds  ample  opportunity  for 
"  squeeze." 

Local  conditions  are  very  important  to  the 
shipping  man  in  China.  Just  as  bad  roads 
affect  coal  sales  by  becoming  impassable 
after  heavy  rain,  so  bars  at  the  mouths  of 
rivers  may  become  impassable  to  ships. 

The  most  suitable  type  of  vessel  on  the 
China  coast  would  be  one  about  280  ft.  long, 

109 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

and  it  should  be  able  to  carry  as  much  as 
possible  on  a  14-ft.  draught.  The  cost  of  running 
such  a  vessel  as  this  might  amount  to  any- 
thing from  £30  to  £45  per  day.  In  addition 
to  all  these  shipping  considerations  a  scheme 
of  afforestation  may  have  to  be  undertaken 
to  cater  for  the  mine's  timbering  require- 
ments as  its  operations  expand. 

A  very  interesting  and  very  big  experi- 
ment of  this  kind  was  begun  by  the  Kailan 
Administration  in  1909.  It  was  undertaken 
with  a  view  to  supplying  the  timber-poles  re- 
quired for  props  in  the  workings  underground, 
and  the  results  are  likely  to  prove  highly 
satisfactory.  Before  many  years  are  over 
the  mines  will  be  independent  of  Japanese 
timber,  because  the  huge  scheme  will  have 
enabled  them  to  use  their  own  poles. 

When  10,000,000  trees  are  growing,  a  suffi- 
cient supply  will  have  been  secured.  Each 
tree  is  estimated  to  produce  two  5  ft.  by  5  in. 
poles  every  eight  years.  That  means  one 
pole  every  four  years,  or  2,500,000  poles 
per  annum. 

At  the  present  time  this  Administration 
obtains  nearly  all  its  timber  from  Japan,  but 
then  it  has  only  about  3,000,000  young  trees 
growing.  These  are  nearly  all  acacias.  Alders 
were  tried  at  first,  but  they  mostly  died,  in 
consequence  of  having  been  planted  on  the 
Hsinho  estate,   which   is  low-lying   and   near 

110 


TO  THE  CONCESSION-HUNTER 

the  sea.  There  was  probably  salt  in  the  soil, 
and  water  was  reached  within  1  ft.  of  the 
surface. 

The  total  area  planted  in  the  five  years 
since  1909  has  been  over  800  acres.  But  100 
of  these  have  been  spread  over  the  unsuitable 
soil  at  Hsinho.  The  percentage  of  trees  lost 
after  planting  during  this  period  speaks  well 
for  China's  agricultural  future. 

At  places  other  than 

Hsinho  it  was  only      .  .      8*40  % 

At  Hsinho  it  was         .  .    59*77% 

Or  altogether  for  all  places      23*56% 

Of  course,  land  which  is  given  over  to 
afforestation  ceases  to  bring  in  rents  from 
farmers,  but  this  Kailan  scheme  is  sure  to  be 
a  financial  success,  in  spite  of  that  initial  loss 
of  revenue.  The  exact  figures  of  cost  would 
sound  cheap  to  English  ears,  but  then  China 
is  a  land  of  very  cheap  labour. 

In  any  scheme  of  this  kind  where  acacia- 
trees  are  being  cultivated,  they  should  be 
planted  in  rows,  at  a  distance  of  1*40  metres 
from  furrow  to  furrow,  and  at  70  centimetres 
from  one  another  along  each  furrow.  Close 
planting  makes  the  stems  grow  straight,  and 
for  mining  purposes  a  big-girthed  pole  is  not 
required. 

A  Chinese  labourer  will  turn  up  furrows  over 
100  square  metres  of  land  at  a  wage  varying 

111 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

between  65  cents  and  $1.00  for  the  strip, 
the  furrows  being  50  centimetres  wide  and 
50  centimetres  deep.  Would  an  EngHsh 
labourer  do  as  much  digging  as  this  for  Is.  6d.  ? 
In  places  where  trees  are  to  be  planted  in 
holes,  one  tree  should  be  allotted  to  every 
square  metre,  but  where  the  soil  is  poor  a 
rather  larger  space  should  be  allowed. 

After  cutting  down  the  poles,  both  alders 
and  acacias  grow  upwards  again  from  the 
trunk  root,  so  that  once  an  afforestation 
system  has  been  properly  organized  there 
should  always  be  an  abundance  of  poles 
available. 

A  scheme  of  this  kind  may  or  may  not 
have  to  be  considered  by  the  mining  man  in 
China.  It  depends  entirely  upon  the  local 
supply  available  near  his  mine.  At  the  same 
time,  similar  schemes  are  being  thought  of 
by  men  of  big  ideas  who  are  contemplating 
China's  development  in  directions  not  neces- 
sarily dependent  on  mining. 

River  conservancies  and  dredging  com- 
panies may  have  their  duties  sensibly  lightened 
by  afforestation.  Mud-bars  at  river-mouths 
may  disappear  altogether  through  the  agency 
of  afforestation. 

Under  present  conditions  rivers  like  the 
Huang-Ho  periodically  overflow  their  banks. 
They  do  this  because  the  river-bed  is  con- 
stantly rising  inch  by  inch,  year  after  year. 

112 


TO  THE   CONCESSION-HUNTER 

It  rises  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  silt 
swept  down  by  the  current. 

The  native  agriculturists  who  are  tempted 
by  its  rich  riparian  soil  greedily  cultivate 
every  foot  of  land  along  its  course,  but  they 
are  compelled  to  bank  the  stream.  In  time 
the  bed  begins  to  silt  up  ;  the  forceful  current 
is  not  abated  ;  but  the  water-level  mounts 
higher  and  higher  above  the  populous  sur- 
rounding corn-fields.  Yet  the  banking  goes 
on  as  before  until  it  reaches  a  pitch  where 
man  can  do  no  more.  Then  comes  the 
cataclysm.  The  mighty  flood  of  waters  breaks 
down  the  barrier,  a  terrible  disaster  ensues, 
thousands  of  square  miles  are  flooded,  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives  are  sacrificed 
to  the  God  of  Chinese  rivers  and  the  urgency 
of  profit  to  mankind.  Even  such  farmers  as 
survive  this  appalling  catastrophe  become 
homeless,  because  their  houses  have  been 
swept  away,  whilst  the  floating  bodies  of 
men  and  cattle  make  China's  friends  feel  sick 
at  heart. 

To  avoid  disasters  of  this  nature,  afforesta- 
tion is  being  considered  for  the  uplands,  where 
these  rivers  rise.  The  schemes  will  cost  money, 
no  doubt,  but  the  sums  expended  on  them 
will  be  fractional  in  comparison  to  the  awful 
destruction  of  property  which  periodically 
overtakes  China  now.  There  remain,  how- 
ever, one  or  two  considerations  which  must 
I  113 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

be  taken  into  account  by  our  friend  the 
concessionaire  when  he  mines  his  coal  on  a 
big  scale,  and  these  we  have  so  far  not  touched 
upon.  He  will  have  to  think  of  his  mules 
underground.  There  may  be  forty  or  fifty 
of  them,  and  they  must  all  be  fed.  They  must 
also  be  fed  on  a  lavish  scale,  because  it  has 
been  found  by  experience  that  a  mule  doing 
heavy  work  underground  requires  more  food 
than  an  army  ordnance  mule  working  in  the 
field. 

The  following  daily  ration  table  will  show 
this  difference  in  lbs. : 


Kind  of  Food. 

Mining  Mule. 

Ordnance  Mule. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

Kaoliang  (or  big  millet) 
Black  beans           .... 
Bran              ..... 
Straw            ..... 

8-01 

•22 

4-79 

15-43 

5-00 

TOO 

4-79 

14-02 

28-45 

24-81 

In  the  case  of  one  or  two  mules,  the  extra 
cost  per  mule  might  not  seem  high,  but  where 
fifty  or  sixty  have  to  be  catered  for  the  forage 
bill  mounts  up  to  big  figures  at  the  end  of  a 
year.  The  cost  of  mule  harness  is  also  an 
unavoidable  item  of  expenditure,  for  tram- 
ming work  is  necessarily  hard  upon  it.  In 
Chinese  mines  a  wooden  collar  padded  with 
straw  is  often  used.  This  collar  links  up  to 
the    coal- truck    with    iron    chains.     But    this 

114 


TO  THE   CONCESSION-HUNTER 

sort  of  harness  is  terribly  clumsy,  and  Chinese 
miners  are  wonderfully  fatalistic  about  letting 
their  animals  get  chafed  or  galled. 

When  China  settles  down  sufficiently  to 
pass  laws,  it  is  to  be  hoped  she  will  frame 
a  Corrupt  Practices  Act.  That,  of  course,  is 
more  urgently  required  than  anything  else, 
to  prevent  her  national  finances  being  under- 
mined by  corruption. 

But  of  importance,  if  only  of  secondary 
importance,  is  a  Cruelty  to  Animals  Act.  As 
John  Chinaman  can  bear  a  great  deal  of 
pain  and  discomfort  himself,  he  expects  his 
domestic  animals  to  take  their  share  of  these 
nasty  things  in  equal  proportion.  Which  of 
us  has  not  seen  him  flogging  a  lame,  half- 
starved  pony  in  front  of  a  heavy  load,  when 
the  roads  were  almost  impassable  and  the 
cart-wheels  deep  in  the  mud  ? 

The  lucky  ones  amongst  us  may  have  had 
the  satisfaction  of  breaking  a  stick  over  the 
cruel  driver's  back,  but,  even  so,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  chastised  one  properly 
understands  the  chastiser's  motives,  even  when 
the  beating  is  accompanied  by  a  scolding  in 
good  Chinese.  The  driver's  back  may  be 
sore,  but  he  goes  away  wondering  why  "  him 
one  piecee  foreign  devil  wantchee  beat  one 
piecee  Chineeman."  He  goes  away  wonder- 
ing.    His  heart  is  as  sore  as  his  back. 


115 


CHAPTER  VII 

ON    LOANING 

Events  of  recent  date  must  surely  have 
shown  John  Chinaman  one  or  two  things. 
He  ought  to  have  learnt,  though  he  probably 
has  not  learnt,  that  double-dealing  does  not 
pay.  The  flotation  of  the  Big  Reconstruc- 
tion Loan  was  very  nearly  wrecked  by  this 
little  Chinese  weakness.  He  ought  to  have 
learnt,  though  he  probably  has  not  learnt, 
that  a  Republican  Government  of  an  Oriental 
country  is  much  more  likely  to  squander 
public  funds  than  is  a  monarchy.  It  stands 
to  reason  these  young  politicians  who  now 
rule  China  do  not  know  from  one  day  to 
another  how  long  they  will  retain  their  places 
in  office.  Naturally  they  have  to  make  hay 
while  the  sun  shines,  and  they  do. 

John  Chinaman  also  ought  to  have  learnt, 
and  this  he  probably  has  learnt,  that  he 
cannot  develop  his  country  in  any  way  with- 
out foreign  supervision.  Money  is  the  first 
necessity,  and  the  foreigner  is  not  going  to 
lend  his  money  except  upon  good  security. 

116 


ON  LOANING 

China's  vast  mineral  wealth  must  remain 
locked  in  the  earth's  coffers  until  it  becomes 
profitable  for  a  mining  company  to  open  those 
coffers.  This  cannot  happen  until  the  con- 
struction of  roads,  railroads,  or  the  betterment 
of  river  service  shall  facilitate  transportation. 
This,  again,  requires  capital — much  capital — a 
vast  amount  of  capital,  and  China's  present 
financial  position  is  more  than  a  little  grave. 
The  foreigner  is  willing  to  lend,  but  he  insists 
upon  good  interest  for  his  money,  and  he 
further  insists  upon  foreign  supervision  of 
the  revenue  upon  which  his  loan  is  secured. 
Gradually  all  China's  sources  of  revenue  are 
coming  to  the  scrutiny  of  foreign  auditors, 
and  probably  it  is  better  for  the  world's 
progress  that  this  should  be  so. 

There  are  two  points,  however,  of  which 
we  must  not  lose  sight :  (1)  China  only  con- 
cedes when  she  feels  herself  weak  and  unable 
to  resist,  and  (2)  China  is  a  curious  country, 
where  the  banker  becomes  a  diplomat  and 
the  diplomat  becomes  a  filibuster. 

The  result  of  this  is  that  some  nations 
allow  their  predatory  or  acquisitive  instincts 
too  much  scope.  When  they  see  China  turn- 
ing this  way,  that  way,  and  the  other  way 
for  money,  they  come  forward  with  cash  to 
advance,  but  only  on  the  most  oppressive 
terms.  They  offer  the  sort  of  terms  Messrs. 
Carlowitz  are  reported  to  have  offered  recently 

117 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

to  the  Tutuh  of  Yunnan  to  find  £3,000,000 
at  5f  %  to  construct  a  railway  from  Yunnanfu 
to  some  navigable  point  on  the  West  River 
on  condition  that  China  should  not  only  cede 
valuable  mining  rights  along  the  route  taken 
by  that  railway,  but  that  Messrs.  Krupp 
should  also  be  granted  the  sole  monopoly 
of  supplying  all  the  machinery,  all  the  ammu- 
nition, and  all  weapons  of  war  required  by 
China  for  a  space  of  twenty  years.  This 
may  be  business,  but  are  we  not  entitled  to 
think  it  is  pushing  a  commercial  advantage 
to  the  point  of  usury  ? 

An   even   more    glaring   case   was   that   of 
the  Austrian  loans  contracted  just  when  the 
Big   Loan   negotiations   were    going    on,    and 
signed  on  April  10th,  1913.     The  subsequent 
discovery  of  these  loans  by  the  bankers  very 
nearly  wrecked  the  Big  Loan  altogether,  but 
they   are   interesting  because  they   show  the 
desperate  straits  of   a  government  which  was 
willing  to    pay  large  sums  for  torpedo-boats 
it   did   not   require,    in   order   to   be   able   to 
handle    a    little    ready    money    which    it    did 
require  very  badly.     There  were  two  agree- 
ments.    They  provided  for  loans  of  £2,000,000 
and  £1,200,000,  respectively,  in  consideration 
of  the  purchase  of  twelve  torpedo-boats  from 
the  Stalilmento  Tecnico,  Trieste,   and  of  six 
torpedo-boat-destroyers  from  the  Vulcan  Ship- 
building Works,  Stettin.     It  was  agreed  that 

118 


ON  LOANING 

the  torpedo-boats  should  cost  £66,150  apiece, 
and  the  destroyers  £145,057,  the  actual 
amount  of  cash  to  be  paid  to  China  being 
only  £1,413,000,  and  the  loans  to   carry  6%. 

Here,  again,  we  repeat  this  may  be  business, 
but  it  is  not  the  attitude  great  western 
nations  ought  to  adopt  towards  China.  It  is 
usury  of  a  worse  kind  than  that  of  the  Jew 
money-lender  whose  extortion  is  limited  by 
British  law.  If  it  is  business,  then  it  is 
business  of  a  sort  which  cannot  find  favour 
with  God,  and  ought  not  to  find  favour  with 
man.  This  sort  of  thing  utterly  undermines 
China.  At  the  present  time  China  is  at  a 
great  disadvantage.  She  has  her  faults,  but 
she  is  trying  to  take  her  place.  It  is  a  time 
when  Europe  ought  to  try  to  make  things 
easier  for  her,  not  to  drive  her  to  bankruptcy. 
The  present  Chinese  Government  has  a  mill- 
stone of  debt  about  its  neck,  which  was  be- 
queathed to  it  by  the  late  monarchy.  The 
poor  Empress  Lung  Yu  received  this  precious 
heirloom  from  the  "Old  Budda "  Tzu  Hsi. 
She  in  her  turn  received  it  from  her  pre- 
decessor. Through  prince  after  prince  it 
swelled  bigger  and  bigger,  as  the  mountain- 
stream  swells  big  and  broad  as  it  passes 
towards  the  sea. 

When  foreigners  became  the  creditors,  a 
definite  stage  was  reached  from  which  China's 
future    could    be    seen.     From    a    foreign    in- 

119 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

demnity  or  loan  there  could  be  no  Oriental 
evasion,  because  foreigners  have  a  way  of 
extracting  payment  with  a  bayonet.  At  the 
same  time,  the  porous  consistency  of  China's 
Treasury  channels  could  not  be  changed  by 
the  source  from  which  her  finances  came. 
Whatever  stream  of  money  found  its  way  into 
China's  financial  channels  was  always  bound 
to  show  a  leakage  of  more  than  50  %.  Nobody 
could  stop  that  leakage  except  foreigners 
themselves,  and  so  the  debts  banked  up 
under  succeeding  rulers.  Each  one,  doubt- 
less, longed  to  wipe  out  his  debts  with  the 
sword.  Each  one  might  have  arbitrarily  re- 
filled the  Treasury  in  former  days  by  robbing 
rich  subjects,  but  neither  Yuan  Shih  Kai  nor 
the  Old  Budda  were  courageous  enough  flatly 
to  repudiate  China's  debts  even  when  the 
charge  was  extortionate. 

The  present  Government  is  carried  on  by 
President  Yuan  and  a  number  of  young  men 
who  do  not  know  how  long  they  may  remain 
in  power.  This  surely  is  the  very  moment 
when  extortion  ought  not  to  be  practised  by 
Christian  nations  of  the  West.  China  stag- 
gered through  one  great  constitutional  crisis, 
and  is  trying  to  recover  from  another.  Her 
financial  resources  are  almost  at  their  last 
ebb.  Salaries  in  Peking  are  in  arrear  as 
they  were  before  the  Big  Loan  was  floated. 
The   funds   which    accrued   from   that   Loan 

120 


ON  LOANING 

were  quickly  absorbed  by  urgent  crying  neces- 
sities. It  is  not  a  moment  to  clothe  extortion 
in  the  garb  of  business  and  call  it  business. 
But,  unfortunately,  there  are  no  magistrates 
to  protect  nations  from  usury  as  individuals 
are  protected  from  it,  and  probably  no  power 
except  British  and  American  public  opinion 
can  protect  China  at  the  present  juncture. 

America,  in  particular,  attracts  mention, 
because  in  front  of  us  we  have  the  statement 
made  by  President  Wilson  at  the  time  America 
refused  to  participate  in  the  Big  Loan  of  1913. 
This  statement  may  impute  to  China  higher 
qualities  than  she  really  possesses,  and  Presi- 
dent Wilson  may  be  more  or  less  unfamiliar 
with  the  real  conditions  of  Peking,  but  at 
least  this  utterance  breathes  a  spirit  of  sym- 
pathy, and  echoes  the  truly  honest  kindness 
of  heart  which  everybody  knows  the  American 
people  to  possess.  It  may  be  given  word 
for  word  that  others  may  see  what  sort  of 
ideas  President  Wilson  had  in  his  mind. 
Whether  he  was  right  or  wrong  in  a  business 
sense  remains  to  be  seen  in  years  to  come. 
That  he  was  right  on  moral  grounds  is  surely 
very  evident,  and  it  may  come  about  that 
any  petty  advantage  lost  for  the  time  being 
may  be  more  than  set-off  by  China's  growing 
confidence  in  the  United  States. 

"  The  last  Administration,  desiring  to  mani- 
fest  America's   good-will   towards   China,    to 

121 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

open  the  way  for  investment  of  American 
capital  in  China  and,  also,  to  share  equally 
with  other  Powers  political  responsibility 
which  might  accompany  the  development  of 
China's  external  relations,  requested  an  Ameri- 
can Group  of  capitalists  to  participate  in  the 
Reorganization  Loan. 

"  Now  the  latter  have  approached  the 
present  Administration,  saying  if  a  similar 
request  was  made,  then,  and  then  only, 
would  the  Group  continue  active  participa- 
tion. The  conditions  of  the  Loan,  however, 
include  conditions  embodying  the  imposition 
of  antiquated  taxes  and  supervision  by 
foreign  advisers.  The  present  Administration 
regards  this  as  touching  the  independence  of 
China,  and  does  not  see  the  necessity  for 
participation,  even  though  America  took  no 
initiation  therein. 

"  Moreover,  the  responsibility  attaching  to 
such  a  request,  in  case  of  eventualities,  might 
lead  to  the  necessity  for  forcible  interference, 
not  only  in  the  financial,  but  also  in  the 
political  affairs  of  China.  Such  is  contrary  to 
American  national  principles. 

"  This  Administration,  therefore,  refused  to 
request  the  Group  to  participate  in  the  Loan. 
The  United  States  Government,  however,  has 
no  intention  of  preventing  free  development 
of  the  great  Chinese  nation.  On  the  contrary, 
it    intends    to    give    whatever    assistance    is 

122 


ON  LOANING 

possible,  so  far  as  is  consistent  with  America's 
traditional  policy. 

"  The  awakening  of  the  Chinese  people  in 
respect  of  liberal  administration  is  the  most 
significant  event  of  modern  times,  and  activi- 
ties of  the  Chinese  people  in  that  direction 
have  the  sincere  sympathy  of  the  American 
people,  who  desire  to  participate  in  China's 
enormous,  almost  unrivalled  resources  for  the 
good  of  the  Chinese  people  and  of  the  world 
at  large.  America  is  anxious  to  promote 
commercial  relations  between  the  two  Re- 
publics, and  recognizes  that  necessary  legis- 
lation is  lacking  to  give  American  residents 
in  China  banking  facilities,  thereby  placing 
Americans  in  a  remarkably  unfavourable 
position  compared  with  their  competitors. 
We  are  ready  to  support  legislation  for  laws 
to  amend  that  defect. 

"  In  short,  our  interests  in  China  lie  in 
the  open  door,  with  the  object  of  cultivating 
friendship  and  mutual  benefit." 

This  message  of  President  Wilson  puts 
forward  America's  attitude  very  clearly,  and 
its  general  tone  has  a  distinctly  noble  ring 
about  it.  It  is  the  voice  of  the  big  Saint 
Bernard  who  is  not  going  to  snarl  and  squabble 
with  the  other  dogs  over  a  bone.  It  is  the 
voice  of  a  truly  great  people,  but  it  must 
also  be  admitted  England  could  not  very 
easily  have  adopted  the  same  attitude.   Where 

123 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

America  is  the  last  comer  to  China,  England 
was  the  pioneer.  It  is  to  England's  activities 
of  years  ago  that  China's  awakening  is  pri- 
marily due,  and  although  England  could 
not  have  stood  aside  and  refused  to  participate 
in  this  Loan  as  America  did,  British  influence 
ought  to  take  note  of  one  or  two  things. 

A  reconstruction  loan  ought  to  carry  as 
small  a  rate  of  interest  as  is  reasonably  possible. 
Safeguards  in  dealing  with  a  country  like 
China  are,  of  course,  absolutely  necessary. 
But  was  it  necessary  for  diplomats  to  haggle 
over  the  nationalities  of  the  foreign  advisers 
by  whom  China  was  prepared  to  be  supervised  ? 

What  possible  objection  could  any  reason- 
able government  have  to  Mr.  Oiesen's  super- 
vision of  the  Salt  Gabelle  ?  Overtures  were 
actually  made  to  him,  but  the  French  Minister 
raised  objections  to  his  appointment  because 
he  was  a  Dane  and  Denmark  was  not  a 
participant  in  the  Loan.  Yet  Mr.  Oiesen 
is  one  of  the  greatest  ornaments  of  the  Chinese 
Customs  service  and  a  Customs  commis- 
sioner of  many  years'  standing.  No,  about 
the  whole  question  there  was  a  grossly 
undignified  wrangle  to  put  this  man  or  that 
man  into  a  highly-paid  position  because  this 
or  that  nation  had  contributed  so  much 
money.  There  was  more  than  a  suggestion 
of  each  nation's  desire  to  profit  by  the  trans- 
action. 

124 


ON  LOANING 

The  consortium  of  bankers  had  done  its 
best  to  come  to  an  understanding  with  the 
Chinese  Minister  of  Finance,  and  the  terms 
of  agreement  were,  in  fact,  practically  settled, 
but  directly  diplomacy  took  a  hand  in  the 
negotiations  business  went  to  the  wall,  and 
endless  disagreement  delayed  the  scheme  for 
months. 

The  following  letter  from  Chou  Hsueh 
Hsi,  the  Minister  of  Finance,  written  by  him 
to  Mr.  Hillier,  the  senior  representative  of  the 
Sextuple  Banks  on  March  11th,  1913,  shows 
very  clearly  what  the  Chinese  thought  of  it 
all.  True,  Chou  is  doubtless  making  the 
best  of  his  case,  but  where  there  is  smoke 
there  is  usually  a  fire,  and  certainly  a  big 
volume  of  smoke  may  be  seen  rising  from  the 
heart-burnings  in  this  Chinese  gentleman's 
letter. 

{Letter  from  H.  E.  the  Hon.  Chou  Hsueh  Hsi 
to  E,  G.  Hillier,  Esq.,  C.M.G.,  Senior 
Representative  of  the  Sextuple  Banks.) 

Peking,  March  11th,  1913. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  submit  the  following 
communication  for  your  consideration  : 

"  For  nearly  one  year  past  negotiations 
have  been  carried  on  with  you  with  a  view 
to  the  obtaining  of  a  comprehensive  loan  for 
meeting    the    financial    requirements    of    our 

125 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

country.  The  terms  of  the  proposed  agree- 
ment were  discussed  by  the  Cabinet,  and 
their  essential  conditions,  so  far  as  they  have 
been  arranged,  were  submitted  by  me  to  the 
National  Council,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
two  points — namely,  the  rate  of  interest  and 
the  price,  which  I  modified  on  my  own  responsi- 
bility— were  approved  by  the  National  Council. 

"  From  the  first  it  was  my  wish  to  con- 
tribute in  every  way  to  the  maintenance  of 
harmonious  relations  with  the  Sextuple  Banks, 
and  keeping  this  object  in  view  I  have  yielded 
to  the  terms  required  by  you  to  the  utmost 
limit,  in  the  hope  that  success  might  be 
attained,  complete  order  in  the  country  re- 
stored, essential  reorganization  effected,  and 
permanent  peace  assured. 

"  Twice  during  these  negotiations  I  have 
been  placed  in  specially  serious  embarrassment. 
On  the  occasion  of  the  end  of  the  old  year, 
modern  style,  and  again  at  the  end  of  the 
old  year,  old  style.  On  both  these  occasions 
obligations  had  to  be  met.  On  the  former 
of  these  occasions,  feeling  confident  that  my 
action  in  this  emergency  would  be  approved 
by  the  National  Council,  I  asked  the  Cabinet 
to  accept  the  responsibility  of  agreeing  to 
the  rate  of  interest  of  5j%  instead  of  5%, 
which  had  been  the  original  basis  of  our 
negotiations. 

"  On   the   26th   of  January   you   wrote   to 
126 


ON  LOANING 

me  that  '  with  the  exceptions  (namely,  the 
price  of  issue  of  the  Loan  in  London  and  a 
verbal  alteration  in  Article  13)  the  text  of 
the  Loan  Agreement  to  be  signed  is  the  same 
as  that  handed  to  you  under  letter  of  the 
15th  of  January,'  and  you  added  that  the 
signature  of  the  Loan  Agreement  was  subject 
to  the  fulfilment  of  the  following  condition  : 

"  Notification  to  us  by  our  respective  minis- 
ters of  the  engagement  under  suitable  contracts 
of  acceptable  foreigners  for  the  posts  of — 

"  Chief  Inspector  of  the  Salt  Administration. 

"  Adviser  to  the  Accounts  and  Audit  De- 
partment. 

"  Director  of  the  National  Loans  Depart- 
ment, 

"  On  receipt  of  this  letter  I  took  the  neces- 
sary steps  to  engage  three  foreigners  of  high 
integrity  and  tried  experience  to  fill  the  three 
posts  specified.  These  foreigners  I  selected 
by  merit,  not  by  nationality,  after  having 
made  thorough  inquiry  into  their  merits. 
I  had  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  choice 
met  with  your  approval,  but  on  the  4th  of 
February,  when  the  Agreement  was  ready, 
and  when  you  had  already  promised  to  sign 
it  immediately  and  advance  money  at  once, 
unexpected  obstacles  were  created  and  your 
promise  could  not  be  fulfilled. 

127 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

"  On  the  5th  of  February  I  wrote  to  you 
informing  you  that  as  the  Agreement  had 
not  been  signed  I  reserved  the  right  to  con- 
tract other  loans  elsewhere.  You  at  once 
replied  that  '  so  far  as  the  Group's  repre- 
sentatives are  concerned,  everything  is  now 
ready  for  signature,  and  the  delay  of  which 
you  complained  is  therefore  clearly  due  to 
circumstances  beyond  our  control  and  for 
which  we  cannot  be  held  responsible.' 

"  On  the  6th  I  again  addressed  a  letter  to 
you  stating  that  I  could  not  be  held  responsible 
for  matters  outside  the  scope  of  the  Loan 
Agreement,  and  that  since  no  agreement 
seems  possible  it  was  my  duty  to  seek  else- 
where for  the  advances  of  which  we  stood 
in  need.  Yet  still  I  waited  patiently,  hoping 
that  you  might  still  conceive  it  reasonable  that 
you  should  sign  the  contract  which  was 
'  ready  for  signature.' 

''  More  than  a  month  had  passed  since 
the  date  of  signature  originally  proposed, 
when  on  March  3rd  the  intimation  was  con- 
veyed to  my  Government  that  at  a  meeting 
of  the  six  Powers  it  had  been  arranged  that 
nationality  was  to  be  the  determining  factor 
in  the  engagement  of  the  foreigners  provided 
for  in  the  Loan  contract,  and  that  an  English- 
man was  to  be  appointed  in  the  Salt  Gabelle, 
with  a  German  deputy,  that  the  director 
of  the  National  Loans  Department  was  also 

128 


ON  LOANING 

to  be  a  German,  but  that  in  the  Accounts 
and  Audit  Department  there  was  to  be  one 
highly  important  change.  Instead  of  one 
foreigner  there  were  to  be  two — a  Frenchman 
and  a  Russian.  Such  serious  alterations  were 
never  contemplated  or  suggested  in  all  the 
course  of  the  negotiations. 

"  First  by  a  succession  of  unreasonable 
delays,  and,  secondly,  by  the  altered  conditions 
required  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  Loan  con- 
tract, I  have  been  involved  in  difficulties 
which  I  have  never  contemplated  as  possible. 
China  has  been  assailed  in  the  European 
papers.  We  are  charged  with  failing  to  fulfil 
our  financial  obligations  by  the  very  Powers 
whose  action  has  prevented  us  from  fulfilling 
our  obligations.  We  are  upbraided  for  not 
more  rapidly  reorganizing  our  administration 
by  the  very  Powers  whose  action  has  pre- 
vented us  from  obtaining  the  requisite  means 
for  reorganization. 

"  The  administration  of  my  country  has 
suffered  serious  injury  through  this  delay, 
and  future  postponement  has  become  most 
difficult. 

"  I  cordially  thank  you  for  the  constant 
courtesy  you  have  shown  me  throughout 
these  protracted  negotiations,  and  I  deeply 
regret  that  unforeseen  circumstances  have 
prevented  the  signature  and  realization  of  the 
contract  when  '  ready  for  signature,'  cir- 
K  129 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

cumstances  which,  as  you  stated  in  your  letter 
of  the  5th  February,  are  beyond  your  control, 
and  for  which  you  cannot  be  held  responsible. 
"  I  respectfully  send  you  this  communica- 
tion for  your  consideration." 

In  common  fairness  to  the  western  nations 
it  must  be  admitted  that  all  the  blame  should 
not  be  apportioned  to  them.  The  Chinese 
themselves  are  in  great  measure  responsible. 
When  they  were  called  upon  to  awaken  from 
sleep  and  take  their  place  in  the  world's  pro- 
gress, they  simply  turned  over  upon  their 
bed  and  arrogantly  waved  all  the  other  nations 
out  of  the  room.  They  always  retained,  as 
they  still  retain,  their  Oriental  predilection  for 
double-dealing.  In  addition  to  this  they  pre- 
fer to  put  an  awkward  question  on  one  side 
rather  than  face  it  like  men.  Their  weapons 
for  centuries  have  been  official  obstruction 
and  evasion.  They  are  wonderfully  clever  in 
the  use  of  both,  but  even  these  faults  cannot 
justify  western  diplomats  in  adding  to  China's 
difficulties.  The  West  has  had  much  pro- 
vocation in  the  past,  and  Chinese  officials  are 
a  very  difficult  body  of  men  to  deal  with, 
but  can  past  provocation  or  present-day 
mistrust  justify  enlightened  Christian  Powers 
in  aping  the  ways  of  Shylock  ? 

The  stream  of  foreign  gold  which  has 
flowed  and  will  continue  to  flow  into  China 

130 


ON  LOANING 

has  come  in  different  shapes.  There  have 
been  railway  construction  loans,  Government 
loans  like  the  Big  Loan  of  1913,  and  pro- 
vincial loans  chiefly  contracted  with  private 
trading-houses.  Under  the  last  category  come 
such  loans  as  the  Skoda  Loan  arranged  by 
Messrs.  Arnhold  Karberg  &  Co.,  of  Tientsin, 
the  Diederichsen  Loan  contracted  at  Shanghai, 
and  the  $6,000,000  Loan  arranged  by  Messrs. 
Carlowitz  (for  Messrs.  Krupp)  to  the  Military 
Governor  of  Chekiang. 

Most  of  these  loans  carried  a  stipulation 
that  some  portion  of  the  money  lent  should 
be  used  for  the  purchase  of  arms  or  machinery 
from  the  lender.  They  were  more  or  less  of 
a  similar  character  to  the  loans  we  have  already 
condemned  as  calculated  to  undermine  China. 
They  were  certainly  not  hailed  with  delight 
by  the  Chinese  Government,  because  orders 
were  issued  forbidding  the  provinces  to  con- 
tract any  more  independent  loans  with 
foreigners  without  first  referring  their  terms 
to  Peking  for  approval. 

When,  however,  the  Big  Loan  negotia- 
tions began  to  hang  fire  in  1912,  and  Peking 
became  [pressed  for  money,  something  had 
to  be  done.  The  provinces  were  crying  out 
loudly  for  financial  assistance.  The  Govern- 
ment could  give  them  none  unless  the  Group 
bankers  should  consent  to  dole  out  bigger 
advances.    When  the  Finance  Minister,  Hsiung 

131 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Hsi  Ling,  requested  the  bankers  to  do  so, 
they  refused  ;  and  the  alternative  was  to  tell 
the  provinces  to  make  their  own  arrange- 
ments. When  Tang  Shao  Yi  was  blamed 
for  signing  the  secret  £1,000,000  Belgian 
Loan,  which  nearly  caused  the  Group  bankers 
to  break  off  negotiations,  he  urged  in  his 
excuse  that  certain  provinces  had  to  be 
provided  for  immediately.  This  was  probably 
true,  but  it  did  not  embarrass  the  Chinese 
Government  any  the  less. 

Since  then  the  provinces  have  once  more 
been  ordered  not  to  contract  any  loans  with 
foreigners  without  first  referring  the  matter 
to  Peking. 

The  question  of  foreign  audit  and  super- 
vision of  the  security  involved  were  two  of 
the  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of  the  Big 
Loan,  but  when  this  was  signed  both  these 
points  were  satisfactorily  settled.  China  is 
now  instituting  an  audit  department  on  foreign 
lines,  and  has  taken  foreigners  into  her  service 
to  organize  it. 

But  the  Chinese  as  a  nation  have  not  abated 
their  hatred  of  the  principles  involved.  The 
outcry  which  was  raised  in  the  summer  of 
1912  by  Dr.  Sun  Yat  Sen,  Huang  Sing,  and 
other  members  of  the  Tung  Meng  Hui  against 
foreign  control  will  take  a  very  long  time  to 
quiet. 

This  feeling  in  the  country  and  the  National 
132 


ON  LOANING 

Assembly  naturally  puts  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment in  an  extremely  awkward  position. 
On  the  one  side  are  six  stern  foreign  ministers 
who  control  the  supply  of  gold ;  on  the 
other  are  the  people,  and  the  chosen  of  the 
people,  who  expect  political  independence 
without  having  the  power  to  wage  war.  The 
battleship  is  the  only  court  of  appeal  from 
diplomacy ;  but  as  China  cannot  fight  she 
has  to  wriggle  instead. 

This  dilemma  of  the  Government  as  regards 
money  probably  accounts  for  the  rise  of  the 
last  financial  comet  upon  Chinese  skies — 
the  Industrial  Bank  of  China.  Through  this 
bank  a  solution  may  very  easily  be  found, 
though  we  cannot  say  that  it  will  be  found. 
One-third  of  its  capital  is  to  be  in  the  name 
of  the  Chinese  Government.  That  is  satis- 
factory from  the  Chinese  Government's  point 
of  view  when  it  becomes  necessary  to  pacify 
both  Parliament  and  people  in  negotiating  a 
new  loan.  If  this  Industrial  Bank  has  every 
facility  for  introducing  French  gold  to  China, 
it  may  be  able  to  do  it  at  a  lower  rate  of 
interest,  which  would  also  pacify  both  Parlia- 
ment and  people.  In  that  case  we  are  tempted 
to  ask  where  its  profits  would  come  in  ? 
Quite  so.  But  why  should  they  not  come 
through  mining  concessions  rather  than  through 
the  French  Legation  ? 

Our  surmises  may  be  entirely  wrong,  but 
133 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

it  looks  as  though  the  promoters  of  this  new 
bank  were  partly  actuated  by  a  genuine 
philanthropic  idea  of  assisting  to  develop  China 
on  a  big  scale,  and  partly  by  a  desire  to  aim 
at  cash  returns  rather  than  political  advan- 
tages. It  will  be  interesting  to  watch  the 
role  this  bank  is  going  to  play  in  China's 
mining  development.  It  is  not  a  Chinese 
Government  bank,  but  a  Franco-Chinese  bank, 
which  has  been  capitalized  in  part  by  the 
Peking  Syndicate,  in  part  by  its  own  share- 
holders, and  in  part  by  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment. 

But  in  the  agreement  which  the  bank  has 
made  with  the  Government  there  is  one 
stipulation  full  of  meaning  to  those  who  are 
able  to  follow  the  flow  of  Chinese  passing 
events.  This  stipulation  provides  that  the 
Chinese  Government  undertakes  to  assist  the 
bank  in  developing  China's  natural  resources. 

In  other  words,  France  is  not  slow  to  adopt 
Belgian  business  methods.  France  means  to 
secure  substantial  mining  concessions.  We 
have  already  seen  that  for  any  commercial 
enterprise  to  succeed  in  China  joint  Chino- 
foreign  interests  are  necessary.  It  was  stated, 
however,  that  the  foreigner  must  have  the 
control.  Whilst  the  foreigner  is  necessary  to 
stop  leakage  of  expenditure,  the  Chinese  is 
necessary  to  grease  official  wheels. 

Long    experience    has    driven    these    facts 
134 


ON  LOANING 

home  very  forcibly  to  mining  men.  To  the 
banker  they  have  not  been  quite  so  apparent, 
because  China  has  always  encouraged  banking, 
whereas  she  has  never  encouraged  mining. 

In  all  probability  the  Banque  Industrielle 
is  going  to  play  a  very  big  part  in  Chinese 
affairs,  and  indeed  it  certainly  looks  as 
though  it  will  be  in  a  stronger  position 
for  securing  mining  concessions  in  China 
than  any  other  syndicate  in  the  world.  Mr. 
Pernotte,  the  chief  of  this  new  power,  is 
a  remarkably  astute  man.  He  has  spent 
many  years  in  China.  In  appearance  he 
resembles  Napoleon,  and  he  comes  from  the 
southern  part  of  France.  The  openings  in 
front  of  such  a  bank  as  he  is  about  to  organize 
cannot  have  escaped  his  keen  eye.  We  may 
well  wonder  whether  the  institution  of  this 
bank  is  a  clever  plan  to  unlock  China's 
jealously-guarded  mines.  If  a  semi-foreign 
bank  can  obtain  mining  interests  for  cash 
advances  instead  of  having  to  insist  upon 
hard  concrete  administrative  supervision  of 
Chinese  revenues,  that  bank  will  do  well. 
While  China  is  fighting  powerful  diplomats 
and  Group  financiers  over  these  matters,  that 
bank  will  profit. 

Towards  the  end  of  1913  Sir  Richard  Dane 
had  to  complain  through  the  British  Charge 
d'Affaires  that  he  was  allowed  to  exercise  no 
administrative   control    over    his    department 

185 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

whatever.  He  complained  that  the  Chinese 
Government  simply  treated  his  department  like 
an  audit  office.  Of  course,  the  salt  revenue, 
in  consequence,  made  a  lamentable  showing. 
To  date  it  is  only  producing  a  fraction  of 
what  was  expected  of  it.  But  what  else  did 
Sir  Richard  Dane  expect  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  his  post  ?  What  else  did  England, 
did  Europe  expect  ? 

China  wanted  Sir  Richard  to  sit  quietly 
by,  draw  a  big  salary,  and  say  nothing.  When 
his  time  for  retirement  arrived,  China  ex- 
pected that  he  would  demand  a  substantial 
sum  for  going  away.  And  he  would  have 
got  it.  Instead  of  that  the  Indian  Civil 
Servant  asked  for  administrative  control,  and 
the  British  Charge  d' Affaires  had  to  com- 
plain. 

As  the  writer  once  remarked  to  Sir  Richard 
Dane  himself,  China  is  only  fit  for  comic 
opera.  Can  anything  be  more  ludicrous  than 
the  arrival  in  China  of  an  excellent  servant 
of  the  British  Crown  who  comes  to  serve  the 
Chinese  Government  ?  He  comes  to  render 
useful  service,  which  he  probably  values  above 
his  pay.  China,  on  the  other  hand,  is  willing 
to  pay  him  anything  he  likes  to  ask  if  only 
he  will  keep  quiet. 

To  an  Indian  Civil  Servant,  of  all  people  in 
the  world,  this  sort  of  situation  must  be 
particularly    galling.     In    India    the    Indian 

136 


ON  LOANING 

Civil  Servant's  word  is  law.  He  is  the  per- 
sonification of  the  British  Crown.  He  exer- 
cises the  administrative  abilities  for  which  his 
race  is  famed.  He  is  what  his  nickname 
calls  him — he  is  the  "  heaven-born."  Ima- 
gine any  person  trained  in  that  school  coming 
to  China  to  organize  a  new  department  under 
foreign  control.  If  he  attempts  to  nominate 
his  own  underlings,  the  foreign  ministers 
utter  a  hullabaloo.  In  this  hullabaloo  China 
joins.  If  he  accepts  the  nominations  of  others, 
he  will  find  a  certain  number  of  men  on  his 
staff  whom  it  is  difficult  to  work  with.  Some 
will  have  foreign  ideas  of  administration  ; 
some  will  be  there  solely  because  they  have  a 
claim  upon  the  persons  who  put  them  there  ; 
and  some  will  be  frankly  unfitted  for  the 
"  job."  If  he  makes  the  best  of  things,  and 
sets  to  work  with  this  new  staff  to  get  some- 
thing done,  China  immediately  says,  "  No, 
no.  You  were  not  sent  here  to  do  anything. 
That  is  not  what  you  are  being  paid  for. 
You  are  being  paid  to  be  a  figure-head,  my 
friend."     And  so  the  comic  opera  goes  on. 

The  reason,  of  course,  is  that  China  is 
undermined,  utterly  and  inherently  under- 
mined, not  only  by  the  Chinese  themselves, 
but  also  by  foreigners. 

But  apart  from  any  of  these  considerations, 
China's  Salt  Gabelle  administration  has  al- 
ways been  a  very  peculiar  thing.     There  are 

137 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

salt  certificates  held  by  hundreds  of  Chinese 
families  which  are  centuries  old,  and  these 
certificates  represent  money  just  as  much  as 
landed  property  or  share  certificates  or  a 
building  mean  money.  If  the  Salt  Gabelle  is 
to  be  thoroughly  reorganized,  these  interests 
must  be  interfered  with,  and  that  would 
mean  a  revolution  before  which  a  political 
revolution  would  pale  into  utter  insignificance. 
Then,  again,  the  salt  revenue  has  been 
collected  under  different  systems  in  all  the 
eighteen  provinces. 

Besides  this,  there  is  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment's view  to  be  considered.  China  wanted 
money,  and  China  looked  upon  Sir  Richard 
Dane's  appointment  as  merely  a  part  of  the 
bargain.  China  did  not  want  him  to  do 
anything.  England,  on  the  other  hand,  put 
him  into  the  appointment  to  make  changes 
which  China  did  not  want,  for  she  only  wanted 
money  and  nothing  but  a  free  hand  to  look 
after  her  own  affairs. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  it :  Sir  Richard 
Dane  thoroughly  understands  salt,  but  does 
he  understand  China  ?  And  in  a  matter  of 
this  sort  a  knowledge  of  China  would  probably 
stand  him  in  better  stead  than  a  knowledge 
of  salt. 


138 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

The  story  of  China's  1913  Reorganization 
Loan  contains  some  of  the  most  illuminating 
side-lights  upon  the  "  undermining  "  section 
of  this  book.  Through  all  the  tortuous  wind- 
ings and  rewindings  of  these  negotiations  we 
see  the  weaknesses  of  a  pagan  race  striving 
to  better  its  position  in  the  eyes  of  a  Christian 
world.  Side  by  side  with  these  weaknesses 
we  observe  the  actions  and  petty  jealousies 
of  those  very  Christian  peoples  whose  good 
opinion  China  was  trying  to  win. 

The  picture  is  far  from  being  a  pleasant 
one.  It  is  a  picture  of  oriental  evasion 
coupled  with  occidental  greed.  During  cer- 
tain of  its  phases  it  suggests  the  camel  lying 
wounded  in  the  slough  of  despond  whilst 
the  eagles  hover  nearer  in  ever-diminishing 
circles.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  there 
is  any  quarrel  with  the  Loan  itself.  No  sane 
man  could  possibly  be  found  to  do  that, 
because  few  things  have  been  of  more  vital 
importance  to  China  than  money  was  at  the 

X89 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

close  of  the  year  1912  and  the  beginning  of 
1913. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  "  Old  Budda's  " 
lifetime,  when  the  sands  of  Manchu  supremacy 
were  fast  running  out,  the  national  funds  of 
the  Treasury  were  also  fast  running  out.  For 
some  years  previously  young  Chinese  youths 
had  been  going  abroad  either  as  students  or 
as  labourers,  and  a  leaven  of  foreign  ideas  had 
spread  so  far  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
forbidden  city  that  reforms  of  various  kinds 
had  been  promised. 

In  all  probability  the  Empress  Tzu  Hsi 
had  very  little  sympathy  with  these  new- 
fangled ideas.  In  fact,  she  was  known  to 
have  been  a  positive  reactionary.  But,  like 
Queen  Elizabeth,  she  preferred  to  concede  a 
few  points  graciously  rather  than  court  a 
revolution  she  saw  slowly  approaching  moon 
after  moon.  Reform  was  a  word  she  loathed 
with  a  deep,  bitter  loathing.  She  had  tried 
to  crush  it,  but  she  found  it  was  hydra- 
headed.  She  had  tried  to  dally  with  it,  to 
quiet  its  supporters,  to  scold  them,  to  reason 
with  them,  to  take  their  heads  off,  but  none 
of  these  methods  were  of  any  avail.  The 
waves  of  reform  were  coming  upward  and 
onward  like  a  strong  spring- tide.  Reform 
had  led  this  powerful  Queen  of  the  East  to 
commit  crime  after  crime  which  only  a  despot's 
creed  of  expediency  could  justify.     Her  Orien- 

140 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

tal  train  of  thought  probably  enabled  her  to 
do  so,  but  she  must  have  seen  she  had  failed 
before  she  died. 

During  her  efforts  to  banish  this  ever- 
recurring  word  "  Reform,"  she  had  alternately 
banished  and  employed  the  President  Yuan 
Shih  Kai — the  man  who  had  betrayed  his 
Emperor.  He  was  not  a  Manchu,  but  he 
had  rendered  to  herself  and  to  her  principles 
at  least  one  mighty  service  at  the  time  of 
the  "  Coup  d'Etat  "  in  1898.  She  nevertheless 
suspected  him  of  being  a  reformer  himself. 
That  he  was  a  modified  reformer  is  a  fact 
beyond  doubt ;  but,  above  all,  he  was  an 
Oriental  statesman,  and  that  implies  a  person 
only  less  reliable  than  a  British  politician. 

Yuan,  however,  was  very  able,  and  Tzu 
Hsi  was  not  likely  to  lose  sight  of  that  impor- 
tant quality  in  this  man.  He  was  also  useful 
to  her  in  dealing  with  those  insistent  bar- 
barians who  kept  coming  into  China  from 
overseas  to  disturb  her  peace  of  mind.  The 
torpedo  which  finally  shattered  her  throne 
had  not  yet  struck,  but  it  had  already  been 
fired  from  Japan,  and  she  may  have  felt  it 
coming.  It  had  been  fired  by  a  Chinese 
foreign  student.  During  her  last  declining 
years  the  influence  of  the  Tung  ]\leng  Society 
became  ever  more  marked  as  her  once  firm 
footsteps  tottered  toward  the  imperial  tomb 
where  her  ancestors  already  slept. 

141 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

When  she  died  there  was  nobody  except 
Yuan  to  take  up  the  reins  of  power,  because 
the  flood  of  rebeUion  instantly  broke  loose 
and  surged,  with  growing  intensity,  around  the 
quaking  Manchu  throne.  This  statesman  of 
Chinese  stock  found  himself  leading  the  loyalist 
forces  in  the  struggle  between  North  and 
South.  Without  funds,  without  any  real 
sympathy  with  their  ghost  of  a  former 
government,  he  had  to  befriend  the  Manchus 
because  they  represented  some  sort  of  govern- 
ment. 

The  first  thing  for  Yuan  to  do  was  to 
secure  money  by  hook  or  by  crook.  As 
already  explained,  the  Treasury  was  empty, 
partly  owing  to  wasteful  extravagance  under 
Manchu  rule  ;  partly  owing  to  China's  credit 
having  been  pledged  to  foreign  financiers ; 
and  partly  owing  to  eunuchs,  like  the  famous 
Li,  who  had  been  robbing  the  revenue  for 
years  past.  The  palace  was  infested  with 
creatures  like  him.  Every  official  in  the 
provinces  had  also  had  his  finger  in  the  pie. 
There  had  been  no  scientific  systematic  keep- 
ing of  accounts.  Corruption,  rank,  wholesale 
corruption,  had  been  allowed  to  flourish  for 
centuries  without  a  check,  and,  of  course,  the 
Treasury  could  not  undertake  the  cost  of  such 
reforms  as  had  been  gradually,  if  grudgingly, 
acquiesced  in. 

The    chief    spirit   in   raising  this  revolution 

142 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

had  been  Dr.  Sun  Yat  Sen.  He,  though 
Chinese,  was  a  missionary  child.  His  family 
belongs  to  Honolulu,  where  some  members  of 
it  have  acquired  wealth  and  the  importance 
wealth  brings.  Dr.  Sun  Yat  Sen  was  thus 
able  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  British 
education,  and  thereby  he  doubtless  acquired 
the  enlightened  views  which  led  him  to  raise 
the  standard  of  rebellion. 

When  this  strange  civil  war  of  yellow  men 
against  yellow  men  began,  both  sides  spared 
no  pains  to  possess  the  only  key  which  unlocks 
every  door  in  China.  Each  side  wanted 
money  ;  for  if  the  well-filled  purse  can  buy  over 
individual  soldiers  in  the  West,  it  can  buy 
over  armies  and  provinces  in  the  East.  Each 
side  realized  that  whichever  of  them  first 
touched  gold  would  also  attain  supremacy, 
and  each  side  was  within  an  ace  of  securing 
the  requisite  funds  on  more  than  one  occasion. 

Had  the  throne  secured  money  before  the 
abdication  was  decided  upon,  a  very  dilTerent 
state  of  affairs  might  have  existed  in  Peking 
to-day.  Had  the  Southern  party  secured 
funds  we  may  wonder  whether  Dr.  Sun  Yat 
Sen  would  have  been  less  ready  to  resign  the 
Presidency. 

As  it  was,  both  sides,  though  unable  to 
obtain  money  for  themselves,  were  successful 
in  preventing  their  rivals  from  doing  so,  and 
Dr.    Sun    doubtless    felt    himself    unequal    to 

143 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

picking  up  the  threads  of  a  Government  he 
knew  nothing  about  when  his  Treasury  was 
empty.  Gangs  of  unpaid  soldiery  were  looting 
and  pillaging  everywhere.  Obligations  to 
foreign  nations  were  banking  up  steadily.  The 
machinery  for  collecting  the  national  revenues 
was  hopelessly  out  of  gear.  It  was  a  time  for 
very  strong  hands,  for  very  skilfully-trained 
hands,  to  grasp  the  wheel  of  power,  and 
nobody,  except  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  could  be  ex- 
pected to  pull  things  through.  Unwilling  to 
face  a  situation  for  which  his  education  had 
not  fitted  him,  Dr.  Sun  resigned  the  Presidency 
in  favour  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai. 

This  strong,  subtle  man  immediately  set 
about  replenishing  his  coffers.  There  was 
only  one  way  to  do  it — a  foreign  loan — and 
all  other  nations  recognized  this  necessity  as 
clearly  as  Yuan  Shih  Kai  did  himself.  They 
also  must  have  recognized  the  urgency  to 
China  of  negotiating  such  a  loan  with  the 
least  possible  delay.  But,  because  they  recog- 
nized the  urgency  of  quick  negotiation,  it 
did  not  follow  that  they  would  depart  one 
hair's-breadth  from  their  time-honoured  cus- 
tom of  getting  their  pound  of  flesh  from 
China.  A  year  or  two  previously  what  has 
been  called  the  Four  Power  Group  of 
financiers  had  arranged  terms  for  construct- 
ing the  Hu-Kuang  railway- lines,  and  this 
Group  began  making  small  advances  to  Yuan's 

144 


THE   STORY  OF  THE   BIG  LOAN 

Government  on  condition  that  they  should 
have  a  firm  option  to  furnish  the  Big  Re- 
organization Loan,  which  everybody  beUeved 
inevitable. 

Great  Britain,  Germany,  France,  and  America 
were  the  four  Powers  whose  financiers 
formed  this  Group,  and  by  the  middle  of 
March  1912  they  had  already  made  two 
monetary  advances  aggregating  $3,100,000. 
But  trouble  then  began.  It  was  discovered 
that  Tang  Shou  Yi  had  negotiated  a  separate 
loan  of  £1,000,000  with  a  Belgian  group. 
Of  course,  the  four  Powers  instantly  stopped 
supplies,  and  Tang,  to  cover  his  mistake  by 
adding  complications,  suggested  that  Russia 
and  Japan  should  come  into  the  Group,  as 
Russia  had  the  right  to  do.  Later  on  America 
refused  to  have  anything  more  to  do  with  it, 
declining  to  lend  money  on  terms  which 
touched  the  independence  of  a  great,  free 
people.     These  terms  were  roughly  as  follows  : 

1.  China  was  required  to  state  for  what 
purposes  she  required  the  money. 

2.  She  was  asked  to  submit  to  representa- 
tives of  the  Group  seeing  that  the  money  was 
spent  in  the  way  specified. 

3.  The  Salt  Gabelle,  upon  which  the  Loan 
would  be  secured,  must  either  be  admin- 
istered by  the  Maritime  Customs  service  or 
by  a  new  service  to  be  established  on  similar 
lines. 

L  145 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Not  unnaturally  China  felt  herself  unable 
to  agree  to  these  terms.  She  saw  quite 
clearly  that  her  independence  as  a  sovereign 
state  was  being  undermined,  and  before  tying 
herself  down  to  such  conditions  she  almost 
preferred  to  face  bankruptcy. 

If  her  own  people  would  not  come  forward 
with  a  patriotic  loan,  there  might  be  other 
financiers  in  Europe  ready  to  help  her.  Her 
policy  was  to  wait  and  scan  the  financial 
horizon  with  nervous,  straining  eyes. 

Day  after  day  for  some  months  Hsiung  Hsi 
Ling,  her  Finance  Minister,  was  up  in  the 
crow's-nest  wondering  how  "  to  raise  the 
wind,"  but  his  ship  of  state  was  financially 
becalmed,  although  negotiations  with  the 
Group  financiers  dragged  on  in  a  condition 
of  deadlock  until  August  was  nearly  over. 

Day  after  day  the  hands  of  time  pointed 
nearer  to  the  hour  when  payments  must  be 
made  from  which  there  could  be  no  escape. 
Of  these  the  Boxer  Indemnity  was  a  main 
item,  and  Russia  was  the  biggest  creditor. 

Russia  !  Holy  Russia  !  the  country  which 
spends  22,000,000  roubles  a  year  on  educa- 
tion, and  nearly  nine  times  that  sum  upon 
prisons  and  police. 

At  last  China's  hours  of  vigil  were  illumined 
by  something  more  than  a  ray  of  hope. 
Though  still  keeping  in  touch  with  the  Group 
financiers,  she  was  able  to  "  save  her  face  " 

146 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

by  contracting  the  Crisp  Loan.  Elsewhere 
mention  has  been  made  of  the  excitement 
which  prevailed  in  British  financial  circles 
over  the  announcement  that  Mr.  Crisp  had 
contracted  this  loan  with  China  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  British  Foreign  Office.  As 
a  financial  experiment,  it  was  a  hopeless  failure, 
in  that  40%  of  it  fell  upon  the  shoulders  of 
the  underwriters.  As  a  prop  to  China's  inde- 
pendence, it  was  something  more  than  a 
success.  It  enabled  her  to  assert  her  per- 
sonality. It  also  enabled  her  to  bargain 
with  her  friendly  oppressors  to  a  far  greater 
degree  than  anybody  imagined  possible. 

Hsiung  Hsi  Ling  was  the  Finance  Min- 
ister on  August  30th,  1912,  the  day  this 
loan  was  signed.  Its  negotiation  had  taken 
place  secretly,  but  China  is  a  country  where 
all  secrets  leak  out  before  they  have  time 
to  become  secret,  and  the  terms  of  this  Loan 
were  no  exception  to  the  rule.  By  the  begin- 
ning of  September  almost  everybody  in  the 
world  had  heard  of  the  Crisp  Loan.  Just 
as  a  Chinese  cement  or  coal  firm  can  find 
out  the  output  and  destination  of  every 
barrel  or  ton  despatched  by  a  rival  house,  so 
the  diplomat  or  the  banker  can  obtain  a 
copy  of  any  agreement  his  suspicions  tell 
him  is  being  drafted.  Such  a  state  of  affairs 
would  never  be  credited  in  England.  Spying, 
intrigue,   and  subtlety   permeate   every   walk 

147 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

of  life  from  the  official's  yamen  to  the  godowns 
of  the  foreign  trading-house. 

Some  critics  have  suspected  that  China 
never  had  any  serious  intention  of  utilizing 
the  Crisp  Loan  in  any  other  capacity  except 
as  a  lever  to  overcome  the  obstinacy  of  the 
Group.  That  may,  or  may  not  be  so,  but 
we  know  this  much  at  least :  the  Finance 
Minister  again  approached  the  Group  on 
September  15th,  1912,  and,  according  to  the 
story  of  these  events,  which  appeared  in  the 
"Far  Eastern  Review,"  promised  not  to 
accept  any  payments  under  the  new  loan 
if  a  satisfactory  arrangement  were  speedily 
reached. 

Two  days  later  half  a  million  of  money  was 
reported  to  have  been  received  as  a  first 
instalment  of  the  Crisp  Loan,  but  the  Advisory 
Council  approved  of  a  resumption  of  negotia- 
tions with  the  Group,  and  both  the  Advisory 
Council  and  the  bankers  showed  signs  of 
becoming  rather  more  conciliatory.  It  was 
believed  that  the  cloud  of  uncertainty  was  at 
last  beginning  to  lift,  and  a  ray  of  hope  began 
to  filter  through  the  lattice-work  of  chances. 

But  within  a  week  the  Chinese  Government 
had  changed  its  mind,  and  flatly  refused  the 
Group's  terms.  Sir  John  Jordan  replied  by 
drawing  attention  to  China's  liabilities,  which 
would  become  due  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
These    sums    reached    the    alarming    total   of 

148 


THE   STORY  OF  THE   BIG  LOAN 

£10,000,000 — not  a  very  pleasant  reminder 
for  China  to  have  to  face  when  her  coffers  were 
utterly  empty.  But  without  relaxing  her 
opposition  to  foreign  control  she  began  to 
shuffle  the  occupants  of  her  various  Govern- 
ment departments.  Hsiung  Hsi  Ling  vacated 
the  office  of  Minister  of  Finance  to  become 
Financial  Commissioner,  whilst  Chou  Hsueh 
Hsi  became  Finance  Minister  in  his  stead. 

The  provinces  meanwhile  had  been  for- 
bidden to  contract  any  loans  with  foreigners, 
although  they  were  just  as  short  of  funds 
as  the  central  Government.  Already,  on 
July  7th,  Hsiung  Hsi  Ling  had  asked  the 
Group  for  an  advance  of  cash  to  give  them 
the  assistance  they  required,  but  the  Group 
had  declined  to  advance  a  cent.  Hsiung 
accordingly  ordered  the  provincial  governors 
to  help  themselves  as  best  they  could. 

Soon  afterwards  these  negotiations  in  China 
were  disturbed  by  the  thunder  of  war  in  the 
Balkans.  The  Balkan  League  had  made  it 
possible  for  those  turbulent  little  warlike 
states  to  sink  their  intertribal  feuds  and  join 
hands  against  Turkey,  their  common  foe. 
European  investors  instantly  buttoned  up 
their  pockets  and  went  to  watch  the  fun. 
For  the  time  being  China  was  forgotten,  so 
that  her  chances  of  financial  accommodation 
became  more  slender  than  ever. 

Although  communications  with  the  Group 
149 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

still  continued,  they  were  of  a  difficult, 
touchy  nature,  because  the  financiers  were 
becoming  diplomats  and  the  diplomats  were 
becoming  filibusters.  Besides  this,  both  dip- 
lomats and  financiers  had  one  eye  fixed  on 
Europe. 

It  was  obviously  to  their  advantage  to 
delay  a  final  settlement  as  long  as  possible. 
It  was  obviously  to  China's  advantage  to 
obtain  a  final  settlement  as  quickly  as  possible. 
For  once  in  her  life  China's  methods  were 
turned  against  herself.  For  once  in  her  life 
she  was  meant  to  feel  the  sting  of  evasion, 
the  mortification  of  delay.  The  very  weapons 
she  had  wielded  with  such  signal  success 
against  Europe  for  centuries  past  were  draw- 
ing blood  from  her  own  bosom,  and  she  wept. 
Certain  foolish  sections  of  the  Chinese  Press 
spoke  loudly  of  boycotting  the  foreign  banks; 
but  how  could  they  do  so?  How  could  the 
leaves  of  a  tree  boycott  its  roots  ? 

China's  sick  finances  were  torturing  her 
sadly,  and  her  rulers,  for  want  of  money,  did 
not  know  which  way  to  turn.  The  Chinese 
Foreign  Office  then  attempted  to  get  the  Crisp 
Loan  officially  recognized,  but  the  Powers 
replied  by  pointing  out  that  China  had  no 
power  to  hypothecate  the  Salt  Gabelle  revenues 
to  any  such  loan.  They  were,  as  China  well 
knew,  already  pledged  for  the  Boxer  Indem- 
nity.    This  protest  compelled  China  to  seek 

150 


THE   STORY  OF  THE   BIG  LOAN 

salvation  at  the  hands  of  the  Group  once 
more,  although  the  negotiations  which  fol- 
lowed were  still  further  complicated  by  Mr. 
Crisp's  contract.  By  Article  14  China  had 
bound  herself  not  to  contract  any  other  loans 
until  the  Crisp  Loan  should  have  been  entirely 
issued.  This  compelled  China  either  to  break 
with  the  Group  or  to  break  with  Mr.  Crisp's 
contract.  She  chose  the  lesser  of  the  two 
evils,  and  Mr.  Crisp  received  a  substantial 
sum  for  the  cancellation  of  his  rights. 

By  this  time  autumn  was  well  advanced, 
and  the  first  chilly  gusts  of  winter  were 
beginning  to  usher  in  snow,  but  nothing  had 
been  definitely  settled.  The  negotiations  had 
apparently  begun  to  run  more  smoothly, 
but  that  was  all.  At  the  commencement  of 
December  it  was  given  out  that  the  Loan 
would  be  for  twenty-five  millions,  and  that 
the  Chinese  Government  would  come  to  terms 
with  Mr.  Crisp  if  a  satisfactory  contract  could 
be  arranged  with  the  Group. 

At  last  there  seemed  some  prospect  of  a 
settlement,  but  certain  nations  were  evidently 
bent  on  further  delay.  Both  Russia  and 
France  appeared  unwilling  to  sink  money  in 
China  when  the  chances  of  peace  in  the  Bal- 
kans were  still  so  remote.  They  asked  for 
compensation  for  damage  caused  by  the  Re- 
volution. They  asked  for  a  5|%  rate  of 
interest.     And    Russia    refused    to    postpone 

151 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

the  payment  of  the  Boxer  Indemnity,  which 
had  now  fallen  due.  Russia  may  be  a  Chris- 
tian country,  but  she  is  a  remarkably  severe 
creditor.  She  had  also  seized  the  opportunity 
of  China's  internal  disturbances  to  put  her 
schemes  for  the  absorption  of  Mongolia  on  a 
more  pronounced  footing.  With  those  matters 
we  are  not  at  present  concerned  beyond 
drawing  attention  to  their  undermining  effect 
upon  the  integrity  of  the  Celestial  Empire. 
At  present  we  can  find  plenty  of  undermining 
operations  in  the  Loan. 

Despite  the  apparent  efforts  of  France  and 
Russia  towards  delay,  the  negotiations  had 
reached  a  point  sufficiently  near  agreement 
to  warrant  the  Loan's  terms  being  printed  at 
the  end  of  the  year.  About  the  same  time, 
towards  the  middle  of  January,  Mr.  Crisp 
was  asked  to  advance  the  February  instal- 
ment of  his  Loan. 

Over  this  question  some  misunderstanding 
seems  to  have  cropped  up,  and  the  advance 
was  not  made.  China  also  asked  for  a  cash 
advance  from  the  Group,  and  here,  again, 
the  advance  was  not  made.  Several  points 
were  still  unsettled,  and  China  was  exceedingly 
anxious  that  anything  relating  to  auditors 
should  not  be  mentioned  in  the  Agreement 
itself.  She  knew  perfectly  well  that  not  one 
penny  could  she  obtain  without  foreign  super- 
vision,   but   she   was   anxious   to   "  save   her 

152 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

face "  and  make  it  easy  to  get  the  Loan 
approved  and  passed  by  her  new-born  Parha- 
ment. 

France,  however,  put  her  foot  down  to 
prevent  any  further  advances.  She  pointed 
to  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs  in  Europe. 
Who  could  say  where  the  Balkan  conflagra- 
tion would  end  ?  In  time  of  war  it  is  the 
power  to  spend  which  can  buy  success,  and 
every  sou  leaving  France  at  such  a  moment 
might  mean  the  fraction  of  a  lost  cause  a 
few  months  later  on.  From  a  French  point 
of  view  delay  was  most  desirable.  Germany  and 
Russia  thought  so  too.  England  was  not  quite 
so  much  influenced  by  these  considerations, 
but  the  Balkan  trouble  compelled  her  to 
raise  no  points  of  friction  between  her  Euro- 
pean neighbours  and  herself.  Japan  was  un- 
concerned. 

About  the  middle  of  January  Chou  Hsueh 
Hsi  was  informed  that  no  advances  could 
be  made  by  the  Group  at  such  a  time. 
He  replied  that  advances  had  been  already 
promised,  and  that  if  they  were  not  forth- 
coming the  Chinese  Government  would  be 
compelled  to  contract  a  loan  with  parties 
outside  the  Group. 

Then  arose  from  China  a  great  cry  for 
loans  :  "  Lend  !  Lend  !  prithee  lend  !  "  but 
nobody  was  able  to  help,  though  everybody 
offered   to   do   so.     In   despair   China   raised 

153 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

her  voice  once  more  :  "  Lend  !  Lend  I  pri- 
thee lend  !  "  As  that  bitter  cry  echoed  from 
one  Tartar  wall  to  another,  the  Hall  of  the 
"  Wagons-lits  "  Hotel  at  Peking  presented  a 
lively  scene.  Every  agent,  sub-agent,  hanger- 
on,  or  putative  representative  of  some  so- 
called  financial  syndicate  bustled  out,  with 
plenty  of  promises  but  no  money,  to  meet 
Chou  Hsueh  Hsi.  The  latter  gentleman, 
no  doubt,  took  their  proposals  with  a  grain 
of  salt  which  had  not  been  taxed  under  foreign 
supervision.  But  though  he  was  looking  about 
for  an  outside  loan,  negotiations  with  the 
Group  were  not  formally  broken  off. 

From  a  social  point  of  view  the  foreigners 
in  Peking  were  enjoying  themselves  immensely. 
From  a  business  point  of  view  nothing  was 
being  done.  These  January  days  very  much 
resembled  the  state  of  affairs  which  existed 
in  Vienna  after  Napoleon's  defeat  at  Leipsig. 
Society  danced,  and  that  was  all.  When 
they  were  not  dancing,  they  were  chiefly 
engaged  in  squabbling. 

Towards  the  end  of  January  it  seemed  as 
though  the  Group  would  break  up  altogether. 
Germany  and  Great  Britain  wished  to  break 
away  and  open  up  independent  negotiations 
with  the  Chinese  Government.  But  the  French 
bank  manager  objected,  and  the  matter 
dropped.  After  this  another  attempt  was 
made   to   come   to   an   agreement,    and   once 

154 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

more  the  negotiations  trickled  into  smoother 
channels.  Probably  China  realized  her  diffi- 
culties more  acutely  by  this  time,  as  she  had 
failed  to  get  her  expected  advance  from  Mr. 
Birch  Crisp,  and.  moreover,  her  outstanding 
debts  were  already  overdue.  Political  ten- 
sion in  Europe  was  becoming  less  strained, 
and  China,  though  grudgingly,  had  consented 
to  the  principle  of  appointing  foreign  advisers 
to  supervise  the  Loan. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Feb- 
ruary 4th  Admiral  Tsai  Ting-Kan  called 
upon  the  various  foreign  legations,  and  stated 
that  the  advisers  whose  appointment  would 
be  acceptable  to  China  were  Mr.  Oiesen — a 
Dane — for  the  Salt  Gabelle,  Signor  Rossi — 
an  Italian — for  the  Audit  Department,  and 
Herr  Rump — a  German — for  the  Loan  De- 
partment. At  six  o'clock  the  same  evening 
a  meeting  of  foreign  ministers  was  held  to 
consider  these  names.  The  result,  of  course, 
was  they  squabbled. 

Is  it  possible  to  conceive  anything  which 
calls  for  a  greater  exercise  of  business  qualities 
than  the  reorganization  of  a  government 
after  a  revolution  ?  Is  it  possible  to  con- 
ceive any  body  of  men  less  capable  of  further- 
ing that  object  than  a  crowd  of  wrangling 
officials  ?  China  was  doing  her  best,  but  she 
was  hampered  at  every  turn. 

With    the    bankers    alone    she    could   have 
155 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

come  to  terms  long  ago.  It  was  diplomacy 
which  made  her  paths  thorny,  and  diplomacy 
is  only  war  in  a  more  insidious  shape.  To 
the  man  in  the  street  what  did  it  matter 
whether  Signor  Rossi  or  Herr  Rump  became 
auditors  of  the  Loan  Department  or  chiefs 
of  the  Salt  Gabelle  ?  It  was  the  man  in  the 
street  who  subscribed  to  the  Loan  through 
the  banks.  It  was  the  man  in  the  street  who 
really  wanted  the  necessary  guarantees.  But 
it  has  always  been  looked  upon  as  right  to 
treat  China  in  a  way  that  European  nations 
would  never  dare  to  extend  to  one  another. 
Why  should  a  loan  to  China  carry  with  it 
semi-political  rights  ?  Switzerland  or  Hol- 
land may  be  weak  countries  in  so  far  as 
military  forces  are  concerned.  But  if  Switzer- 
land required  a  loan  to  build  a  railway, 
would  the  lender  think  of  demanding  all 
mining  rights  within  ten  miles  of  that  track  ? 
Would  he  have  the  impudence  to  demand, 
in  addition,  the  exclusive  right  of  supplying 
Switzerland  with  gun-powder  or  cocoanuts 
or  grate-polish  for  the  space  of  twenty  years  ? 
No,  but  China  is  not  Switzerland.  China  is 
the  milch  cow  to  be  despoiled,  to  be  robbed, 
to  be  squabbled  over. 

In  this  case  the  diplomats  squabbled  over 
the  nationalities  of  the  gentlemen  whom 
Admiral  Tsai  proposed  to  take  into  China's 
service   as   financial   advisers,   and   the   Loan 

156 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

itself  became  utterly  forgotten  in  the  wrangle 
which  ensued,  i'rance  wanted  to  be  repre- 
sented. So  did  Russia.  It  was  pointed  out 
that  two  out  of  the  three  gentlemen  proposed 
belonged  to  neutral  nations  unconcerned  with 
the  Loan.  But  France  objected  to  Herr  Rump 
because  he  was  a  German,  and  Germany  was 
a  party  to  the  Loan.  Some  time  previously 
she  had  objected  to  Mr.  Oiesen  because  Den- 
mark was  not  a  party  to  the  Loan.  It  may 
be  true  that  a  council  of  war  never  fights, 
but  this  council  of  diplomats  certainly  did 
fight,  for  when  they  failed  to  come  to  an 
agreement  these  quarrelsome  gentlemen  wired 
home  to  their  governments  for  instructions. 
An  exact  parallel  may  be  seen  in  the  nursery 
any  day  of  the  week,  when  children  first 
squabble  over  their  toys  and  then  run  down 
to  mother — "  for  instructions."  Unfortu- 
nately there  is  no  equivalent  expression  to 
represent  mother  in  the  diplomatic  world. 
If  there  were,  these  gentlemen  might  have 
gone  away  back  to  their  nursery  with  the 
castigation  they  deserved. 

Meantime  the  Loan  stagnated,  but  the 
wrangling  went  on.  A  British  adviser  was 
proposed  for  the  Salt  Gabelle,  a  German 
was  suggested  for  the  Loan  Department, 
whilst  joint  French  and  Russian  advisers 
were  proposed  for  the  Audit  Department. 

This  time  Germany  objected.  She  tried 
157 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

to  bargain  that  if  no  obstacles  were  raised  to 
the  appointment  of  an  EngUshman  to  the 
Salt  Gabelle  she  should  be  given  control  of 
both  sections  of  the  Tientsin-Pukow  Railway. 
There  ! — a  nice  suggestion  !  We  can  almost 
hear  Liberia  making  the  same  sort  of  offer 
to  Lapland  for  the  control  of  the  London 
North  Western  lines. 

A  Chinese  railway  built  partly  under  British, 
and  partly  under  German  supervision  ;  but 
Germany  demanded  entire  control  as  an  off- set 
to  an  Englishman  safeguarding  the  invest- 
ment of  British  shillings  or  German  marks 
in  a  Chinese  loan.  No  wonder  the  Chinese 
were  indignant  at  these  proposals.  Can  we 
imagine  anything  more  degrading  to  any 
nation's  pride  than  to  hear  such  things  ? 
Can  we  also  imagine  anything  more  degrading 
to  a  nation's  sense  of  decency  than  to  propose 
such  things  ?  But  this  outrage  upon  China's 
pride  was  not  mitigated  by  the  astounding 
blunder  committed  by  the  diplomats  in  using 
the  expression  "  Director-General  "  instead  of 
"  Adviser "  when  they  formally  submitted 
their  proposed  nominations  to  the  Chinese 
Government.  If  diplomats  are  of  any  use 
at  all,  they  ought  not  to  make  these  mistakes. 
For  a  mistake  like  that  a  man  deserves  to 
lose  his  head.  But  perhaps  these  diplomats 
would  excuse  themselves  by  saying  that  they 
had  already  lost  their  heads. 

158 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

On  March  11th  Chinese  feelings  found  ex- 
pression in  the  letter  sent  by  Chou  Hsueh 
Hsi  to  the  Group  bankers.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  recapitulate  his  remarks,  for  the 
full  text  of  that  letter  has  been  given  else- 
where. It  did  not  have  the  effect  of  breaking 
off  the  negotiations,  but  it  clearly  shows  the 
pitch  of  tension  which  had  been  attained. 
The  Group  replied  courteously,  but  sent  in  a 
little  reminder  to  China  in  the  shape  of  a  bill. 
"  Please  pay  up  the  money  we  advanced  you 
a  year  ago,"  is  what  they  said  in  more  official 
phraseology. 

And  China  could  not  pay.  Poor  China  I 
What  was  she  to  do  ?  Adverse  circumstances, 
internal  troubles,  war  in  Europe,  stony-hearted 
financiers,  and  still  stonier-hearted  diplomacy 
all  seemed  to  have  combined  for  her  over- 
throw, all  seemed  anxious  to  hurl  her  from 
the  Tarpeian  rock  into  the  abyss  of  bankruptcy 
below. 

There  was  no  other  course  for  her  to  take 
except  to  admit  she  could  not  meet  her 
Treasury  bills  until  the  Big  Loan  should  be 
concluded.  She  asked  that  the  time-limit 
might  be  extended  for  another  year,  but  this 
suggestion  was  not  viewed  favourably  by  the 
bankers,  and  they  refused  to  accede  to  it. 

The  usual  machinery  for  reporting  bank- 
ruptcy was  set  in  motion,  and  the  various 
legations  were  duly  informed  that  the  Chinese 

159 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Government  could  not  meet  its  obligations. 
The  whip  was  being  applied  at  last  to  China's 
back.  If  she  persisted  in  trying  to  raise 
money  independently  of  the  Group,  she  was 
to  be  brought  to  book  without  delay.  It  was 
financial  coercion  of  a  very  stern  kind.  Nothing 
daunted,  the  Minister  of  Finance  still  continued, 
with  the  utmost  vigour,  to  raise  an  inde- 
pendent loan,  but  several  attempts  failed. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  of  the  affair  that  America 
decided  to  withdraw  from  the  Group,  and 
President  Wilson  issued  the  explanation  al- 
ready dealt  with  in  this  book.  We  have 
seen  that  his  intentions  were  honourable  and 
friendly.  They  were  worthy  of  the  great 
people  whose  chief  citizen  he  happened  to  be. 
But  this  withdrawal,  by  giving  hope  to 
outside  financiers,  contributed  not  a  little 
towards  getting  the  Big  Loan  through.  It 
was  March  18th  when  America  left  the 
squabblers  to  squabble  amongst  themselves. 

The  prophets,  of  course,  prophesied  that 
the  Group  would  disintegrate  altogether,  and 
independent  lenders  became  more  and  more 
active.  But  China  is  a  country  where  those 
who  know  best  are  never  right,  whilst  those 
who  know  nothing  are  always  wrong.  In  this 
case  the  Group  did  not  break  up,  although  two 
syndicates  began  seriously  to  open  secret  nego- 
tiations with  the  Chinese  Minister  of  Finance. 

One  of  these  was  an  international  syndi- 
160 


THE   STORY  OF   THE   BIG   LOAN 

cate.  The  other  was  headed  by  Reuter's 
Telegram  Company.  Apparently  neither  of 
these  syndicates  was  sufficiently  strong  to 
cater  for  all  China's  needs,  so  they  joined 
forces,  and  arranged  to  supply  China  with 
30,000,000  sterling  at  5|%.  The  Crisp  Loan 
was  to  be  undertaken  by  them  jointly,  but 
its  rate  of  interest  was  to  be  raised  to  the 
above-mentioned  figure.  Reuter's  Company 
then  withdrew.  But  the  new  negotiations 
were  carried  forward  in  spite  of  this  seces- 
sion until  the  draft  agreement  was  printed 
and  ready  for  signature  on  April  25th,  1913. 

Mark  this  point  :  everything  was  ready  for 
signing  this  other  loan  on  the  very  day  before 
the  Big  Loan  was  actually  signed.  Every 
detail  was  thoroughly  settled,  and  nothing 
but  a  scrawled  signature  prevented  eighteen 
months  of  wrangling  leading  to  no  result 
whatsoever.  Then  the  secret  leaked  out,  and 
the  Group  financiers,  with  frenzied  hurry, 
hastened  to  open  their  money-bags. 

There  !  that  gives  us  some  little  insight 
into  the  game  of  dawdle  and  delay  from 
which  China  had  suffered  so  long  at  the  hands 
of  this  Group.  No  sooner  was  she  in  a  posi- 
tion to  get  money  from  another  source  than 
they  "  came  to  heel  "  with  startling  sudden- 
ness and  even  modified  their  terms. 

On  April  24th  it  was  reported  that  the 
Russians  were  again  trying  to  block  the  Loan, 

M  161 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

but  the  British  insisted  that  it  should  be 
concluded  at  once,  and  the  Big  Loan  became 
an  accomplished  fact  after  months  of  non- 
sensical squabbling. 

At  this  point  China's  political  condition 
demands  a  little  of  our  attention.  After  the 
overthrow  of  the  Manchus,  the  Government 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  because, 
as  we  have  seen,  there  was  nobody  else  who 
could  very  well  have  undertaken  it.  At  the 
same  time,  he  was  only  a  section  of  the  Govern- 
ment machine.  He  was  only  the  President. 
There  were  also  two  Houses  of  Parliament 
to  complete  the  political  machine,  although 
no  elections  had  yet  taken  place,  but  a  national 
council  filled  up  the  gap  as  a  temporary 
measure.  Soon  after  the  commencement  of 
Yuan's  Presidency,  however,  it  was  obvious 
that  the  North  and  South  had  only  come 
together  in  order  to  sweep  out  the  Manchus. 
There  was  no  real  sympathy,  no  similarity  of 
ideals  between  the  people  from  above  and 
below  Shanghai. 

That  Yuan  realized  this  to  the  full  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  for  we  soon  detect  him 
making  a  few  little  preparations  which  caused 
watchful  people  to  expect  the  southern  re- 
bellion which  broke  out  in  July  1913.  In  one 
or  two  provinces  he  had  been  substituting  a 
military  for  a  civil  governor.  That  alone 
was  significant.     He   had   been   having   more 

162 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

than  a  little  trouble  from  members  of  the 
Kuo-ming-tang  party  in  Parliament,  and  they 
had  been  extremely  insistent  on  demanding 
that  the  Loan  should  be  properly  put  before 
the  Assembly.  It  had  been  read  and  hurriedly 
approved  at  a  secret  meeting  of  the  Ad- 
visory Council  held  on  December  27th,  1912, 
but  between  that  date  and  April  26th,  1913, 
when  it  was  actually  signed,  alterations  in 
its  conditions  had  taken  place. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  it — Yuan  Shih 
Kai  acted  throughout  1912  and  1913  in 
exactly  the  same  manner  that  Cromwell  acted 
when  he  became  Protector.  He  had  obstacles 
enough  to  face  where  foreigners  were  con- 
cerned. He  could  not  waste  time  while  a 
body  of  mimic  politicians  decided  whether 
this  condition  or  that  condition  in  the  Loan 
Agreement  pleased  that  or  this  person  or 
party.  The  difference  was  this  :  Yuan  was 
a  statesman  of  the  Oriental  school ;  his  critics 
were  politicians  from  the  schoolroom.  They 
accused  him  of  being  unconstitutional.  He 
evidently  was  unconstitutional.  But  his  con- 
duct of  affairs  was  precisely  what  Cromwell's 
would  have  been  if  the  Fates  had  put  him  in 
Chinese  shoes.  Just  as  Dr.  Sun  Yat  Sen 
foretold  another  war  when  the  Loan  should 
have  replenished  Yuan's  Treasury,  the  Kuo- 
ming-tang  party  probably  foresaw  the  war- 
clouds  and  tried  to  embarrass  the  President. 

1C3 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

We  can  now  return  to  the  dramatic  climax 
of  the  Loan  negotiations,  which  began  on 
April  24th.  On  that  day  the  Minister  of 
Finance  suddenly  left  Peking  for  Tientsin. 
Immediately  afterwards  a  special  train  left 
Peking  in  pursuit.  On  board  were  four  dele- 
gates from  the  President,  and  these  men 
carried  peremptory  orders  for  Chou  Hsueh 
Hsi  to  return  at  once.  He  returned  by  the 
special  train  on  April  25th. 

Next  day  it  became  generally  known  that 
the  Big  Loan  Agreement  was  about  to  be 
signed.  In  Chinese  political  circles  there  was 
a  great  flutter  of  excitement.  The  Speaker 
and  the  Vice-Speaker  of  the  Senate  sent  letters 
to  the  President  early  in  the  morning  asking 
that  the  Loan  question  should  be  referred  to 
Parliament.  To  this  request  Yuan  replied  that 
the  Advisory  Council  had  already  approved 
its  conditions.  But  he  promised  to  send  his 
Chief  Secretary,  Liang  Shih  Yi,  to  explain. 

At  4  p.m.  Liang  arrived,  and  stated  that 
the  Government  was  perfectly  justified  in 
what  it  had  done,  and  that  the  Loan  had 
been  already  signed.  This  was,  to  use  a 
Winstonian  phrase,  a  terminological  inexacti- 
tude. The  Agreement  had  not  been  signed. 
It  had  only  been  initialled,  and  the  Senators 
learned  that  the  formal  signing  would  take 
place  that  night,  April  26th,  at  the  Hongkong 
and  Shanghai  Bank. 

164 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BIG  LOAN 

The  Vice- Speaker  thereupon  visited  the 
bank  about  9  o'clock  that  evening  and  inter- 
viewed three  of  the  Group's  representatives. 
He  pointed  out  the  irregularity  of  signing  the 
Loan  Agreement  in  such  an  unconstitutional 
way,  but  the  bankers  replied  that  they  had 
been  instructed  to  proceed  with  it,  and  they 
could  only  deal  with  the  Chinese  Government 
through  the  ordinary  official  channels.  The 
Vice-Speaker  then  withdrew,  but  a  little  while 
later  he  called  again  upon  the  bankers  in 
company  with  the  Speaker  and  one  or  two 
other  politicians.  The  bankers  were  by  this 
time  in  conference  with  the  Government 
representatives,  and  the  visitors  were  informed 
that  it  was  impossible  for  Mr.  Hillier  to  receive 
them.  There  was  nothing  more  to  be  done. 
They  had  to  go  away. 

Meanwhile  the  Finance  Minister  and  the 
Premier  were  going  over  the  Agreement  with 
the  Group's  representatives.  But  without 
any  warning  a  hitch  suddenly  occurred  which 
very  nearly  upset  the  conference  at  the  very 
last  minute. 

In  the  original  Agreement  there  was  a 
stipulation  that  the  Chinese  Government  should 
not  float  any  more  loans  after  December  1st, 
1912,  for  a  period  of  six  months.  On  reaching 
this  paragraph  the  Minister  of  Finance  asked 
that  the  date  should  be  altered  to  April  10th, 
1913. 

165 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Of  course,  the  bankers  instantly  "  smelt  a 
rat,"  and  pressed  him  for  a  reason  why  this 
new  date  should  be  substituted  for  the  old 
one.  It  then  transpired  that  China  had  con- 
tracted a  loan  with  some  Austrian  financiers 
on  that  date.  This  little  incident  throws  a 
strong  ray  of  lime-light  upon  the  scheming, 
underhand  business  which  had  marked  every 
stage  of  the  Big  Loan's  progress  from  beginning 
to  end.  It  shows  the  European  diplomats 
wishing  to  delay  matters.  It  shows  China 
so  hungry  for  money  that  she  made  this 
secret  compact  with  Messrs.  Arnhold  Karberg 
upon  terms  that  were  outrageously  severe. 
She  was  to  become  liable  for  £3,200,000  at 
6%,  and  in  return  she  was  to  receive  only 
£1,413,000  in  cash,  because  the  balance  was 
to  be  paid  in  Austrian  torpedo-boats  which 
she  did  not  require. 

The  bankers  had  two  alternatives  before 
them  after  the  disclosure  mentioned  above. 
They  could  either  refuse  to  sign  the  Agree- 
ment altogether  and  refer  the  matter  home, 
or  they  could  sign  it  provisionally  and  still 
refer  the  matter  home. 

Of  these  two  alternatives  they  chose  the 
latter,  and  eventually  it  was  arranged  that 
the  Austrian  Loans  should  not  come  into 
operation  until  three  months  after  the  Big 
Loan  had  been  floated. 


166 


CHAPTER   IX 

RAILWAYS 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Manchu  fall,  railway 
development  had  been  remarkably  backward 
in  China.  After  the  Chino- Japanese  War,  a 
fearful  battle  had  been  waged  between  various 
foreign  nations  to  secure  railway  concessions, 
but  many  of  these  concessions  had  never  led 
to  anything.  Some  few  took  shape,  but  the 
time  had  not  yet  arrived  when  China  was  to 
put  on  her  steel  armour  and  carry  industrial 
war  into  countries  oversea.  She  had  no  im- 
mediate desire  to  be  hurried  by  the  West, 
and  her  people  were  distinctly  hostile  to 
railway  development,  because  they  feared 
foreign  money  would  mean  foreign  super- 
vision. They  feared,  in  fact,  that  the  inde- 
pendence of  their  country  might  be  under- 
mined. They  were  not  prepared  to  welcome 
any  foreign  loan  which  would  secure  the 
lending  nation  political  or  semi-political  rights, 
or  which  would  involve  China  in  serious 
trouble  to  the  detriment  of  her  interests. 
The  Chinese  frequently  cited  the  case  of  the 

167 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

late  American  China  Development  Company, 
which  had  left  a  deep  impression  on  their 
minds. 

In  that  case  it  will  be  remembered  the 
American  Company  had  been  granted  the 
concession  to  build  the  line  from  Hankow 
to  Canton.  It  had  been  purposely  given  to 
America  because  China  desired  to  prevent 
Belgian  interests  becoming  too  strong,  espe- 
cially when  France  and  Russia  were  attempting 
to  realize  their  aim  of  linking  up  Manchuria 
and  Tonquin  by  a  line  across  China.  At  the 
time  the  Russo-Chinese  Bank  was  suspected 
of  being  in  very  close  touch  with  Belgian 
enterprise,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
this  was  true.  A  Belgian  syndicate — in  which 
Russian  and  French  banks  participated — had 
just  been  granted  the  right  to  build  the  line 
from  Peking  to  Hankow,  and  China  was 
particularly  anxious  that  the  extension  of 
this  line  to  Canton  should  be  withheld  from 
Belgian  hands. 

The  Belgians,  however,  were  not  to  be  so 
easily  balked.  They  had  done  their  best  to 
secure  the  concession  before  America  had 
been  favoured  with  it,  but  when  it  appeared 
to  have  gone  past  them,  they  set  themselves 
to  possess  it  or  to  wreck  it  by  securing  the 
bulk  of  the  American  China  Development 
Company's  shares.  They  were  fortunate 
enough  to  attempt  this  when  the  United  States 

168 


RAILWAYS 

was  busily  engaged  with  the  Spanish  War,  and 
eventually  they  succeeded  in  securing  a  con- 
trolling voice  in  the  Company's  management, 
which  quite  disconcerted  China.  The  latter 
country  had  expressly  asked  Mr.  Cary,  the 
American  lawyer  who  went  to  Shanghai  to 
arrange  the  Development  Company's  business, 
whether  the  Americans  could  transfer  the 
rights  under  their  agreements  to  other  nations 
or  people  of  other  nationality.  And  Mr.  Cary 
had  undoubtedly  explained  that  an  American 
company  of  this  sort  could  not  alienate  its 
rights  to  a  foreign  country,  although  there 
was  nothing  in  the  agreements  to  restrict 
freedom  of  dealing  in  its  shares. 

Meantime  a  little  work  was  done,  but  soon 
the  Belgians  began  to  show  their  hand. 
They  replaced  the  American  engineers  by 
Belgians  and  removed  the  Company's  agent 
at  Shanghai.  The  Chinese  local  gentry  quickly 
realized  the  changed  conditions.  A  hue  and 
cry  was  raised  and  work  was  stopped.  Even- 
tually China  bought  out  the  American  China 
Development  Company,  but  the  mistrust  which 
these  doings  had  sown  in  John  Chinaman's 
mind  could  not  be  so  easily  eradicated.  All 
these  events  are  dealt  with  at  much  greater 
length  in  Mr.  Percy  Kent's  "Railway  Enter- 
prise in  China,"  but  they  are  important  to 
remember  in  view  of  recent  events. 

For  many  a  day  after  the  settlement  of  the 
169 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

case  above-mentioned,  Chinese  desires  for 
foreign  loans  for  railway  development  were 
sadly  impaired.  It  was  in  1905  that  the 
American  China  Development  Company  turned 
over  their  rights  to  the  Chinese.  Among  the 
assets  was  the  completed  Canton-Samshui 
branch-line,  extending  to  a  distance  of  thirty 
miles  from  Canton.  It  was  taken  over  by 
the  three  provinces  directly  concerned  with 
the  Canton-Hankow  Railway — namely.  Can- 
ton, Honan,  and  Hupeh.  This  little  line  was 
then  operating,  but  the  main  trunk-line  of 
some  750  miles  in  length  has  not  been  com- 
pleted to  this  day. 

This  delay  in  linking  up  Hankow  with 
Canton  had  been  partly  due  to  insurrections, 
partly  to  lack  of  funds,  but  mainly  because 
John  Chinaman  was  determined  to  do  this 
piece  of  work  with  Chinese  capital  only. 
He  was  yet  to  learn  that  this  could  not  be. 
In  only  one  instance  has  a  line  been  built 
purely  by  Chinese  capital,  and  the  birth  of 
that  line  is  of  very  recent  date.  This  one 
line  is  the  Peking-Kalgan  line. 

The  determination  of  John  Chinaman  to 
build  the  Canton -Hankow  line  was  only  the 
expression  of  a  general  feeling,  particularly 
marked  before  the  Manchu  overthrow,  to 
delay  railway  enterprise  in  China.  Before 
that  revolution  there  were  some  railways 
operating,    but    not    many.     Others    were    in 

170 


RAILWAYS 

course  of  construction,  but  they  were  few. 
Some  had  already  been  surveyed,  while  others 
were  merely  projected  on  paper,  with  no 
possible  chance  of  ever  being  built.  But  after 
the  fall  of  the  Monarchy  Dr.  Sun  Yat  Sen's 
oratory  did  a  great  deal  towards  making 
China  see  that  railways  must  be  built  at  any 
cost,  although  there  is  a  feeling  existing  to 
this  day  against  putting  power  into  foreign 
hands. 

If  we  had  glanced  at  the  map  of  China  in 
1908  we  should  have  seen  how  few  railways 
were  in  existence  at  that  time.  In  the  Kwang- 
tung  province  were  two  little  railways — the 
Samshui-Canton  and  the  Swatow-Chaochowfu 
lines.  In  Kianghsi  there  was  the  line  from 
Chuchow —  P'ing-Hsiang-Hsien, — but  apart 
from  these  there  were  no  others  operating 
in  Southern  China.  In  the  Yangtse  Valley 
we  should  have  seen  the  Nanking-Shanghai 
Railway,  but  the  Tientsin-Pukow  line  had 
not  yet  been  built.  The  north  was  joined  up 
with  Central  China  by  the  Peking-Hankow 
line,  while  Tsingtau  was  linked  with  Chinanfu. 
We  should  have  seen  the  little  railway  linking 
the  Peking  Syndicate  ]\Iines  with  the  Kinhan 
line,  and  its  extension  from  Hsinhsiang  to 
Taok'au.  Taiyuanfu  was  also  linked  up  to 
the  Kinhan  line  at  Chent'ou.  And,  lastly, 
there  was  the  Peking-Mukden  line  extending, 
of  course,  to  Yinkow. 

171 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

We  need  not  concern  ourselves  with  the 
South  Manchurian  Railway.  It  is  perfectly- 
obvious  to  the  meanest  intelligence  that  the 
Japanese  never  intend  handing  it  back. 
Neither  is  it  necessary  to  pay  any  attention 
to  the  Chinese  lines  under  Russian  manage- 
ment, for  railway  systems  which  once  pass 
into  Russian  or  Japanese  hands  are  never 
likely  to  become  Chinese  again. 

Of  all  these  lines,  the  only  one  to  which  we 
must  pay  very  careful  attention  is  the  Peking- 
Hankow  Railway.  Here,  again,  recent  events 
compel  us  to  review  the  important  political 
issues  connected  with  it.  Here,  again,  we 
find  Belgium  the  central  figure  of  the  picture. 
But  in  this  case  Belgium  really  meant  France 
and  Russia  as  well,  since  these  two  nations 
intended  joining  hands  across  China.  Ameri- 
cans were  the  first  to  try  to  secure  this 
railway  concession,  but  Belgium  successfully 
underbid  them.     As  Mr.  Percy  Kent  puts  it  : 

"  While  the  Americans  were  bargaining, 
the  Belgians  were  accepting  the  Chinese  terms. 
It  was  perhaps  scarcely  surprising  that  a 
contract  was  in  due  course  signed  between 
the  Belgian  Syndicate  and  His  Excellency 
(Sheng)  in  June  1897. 

"  It  was  soon  found,  however,  that  finan- 
ciers in  Europe  could  do  nothing  with  the 
contract  in  its  present  shape,  and  it  became 
necessary   to   obtain   more   attractive   terms. 

172 


RAILWAYS 

The  second  stage  in  the  process  had  been 
reached,  and  resort  was  had  to  diplomatic 
pressure  in  Peking,  negotiations  being  opened 
up  with  the  Tsung-H  Yamen  by  the  Belgian 
Minister,  backed  up  by  the  representatives 
of  Russia  and  France. 

"  Although  it  was  known  that  the  conces- 
sion of  1897  had  been  granted,  and  had  proved 
unworkable,  and  that  diplomatic  efforts  were 
being  made  in  Peking  to  obtain  improved 
terms,  the  British  Minister  does  not  appear 
to  have  thought  it  necessary  to  take  any 
particular  action  in  this  matter.  He  relied 
on  an  assurance  from  the  Yamen  that  the 
Syndicate  was  a  bona  fide  Belgian  affair,  and 
on  the  fact  that  he  had  secured  the  insertion 
in  the  original  agreement  of  a  clause  restrain- 
ing alienation  to  any  other  foreign  Power. 
It  must  also  be  added  that  he  was  not  aware 
of  the  active  interest  which  was  being  dis- 
played by  France  and  Russia,  and  conse- 
quently did  not  realize  the  significance  of 
what  might  at  any  moment  develop  into  a 
political  movement  against  British  interests 
in  the  region  of  the  Yangtse,  if  indeed  it  was 
not  in  intention  already  such. 

"The  first  warning  note  apparently  was 
struck  by  Dr.  Morrison  in  a  telegram  to  '  The 
Times '  in  May  1898.  It  was  followed  by 
the  manifestation  of  uneasiness  on  the  part 
of    the    British    Government.     But,    unfortu- 

173 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

nately,  matters  were  too  far  advanced  for  any 
effective  action  to  be  taken,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks  the  revised  contract  was  duly 
executed. 

"  The  telegraphic  interchange  of  instruc- 
tions and  information  which  passed  at  that 
time  between  London  and  Peking  forms  an 
instructive  comment  on  the  methods  that 
have  sometimes  been  employed  to  safeguard 
British  interests  in  China.  Brief,  significant, 
almost  pathetic  in  their  newly-awakened 
anxiety,  these  messages  also  record  the  detailed 
history  of  those  few  weeks,  and  will  be  found 
to  repay  perusal  by  those  at  all  interested 
in  the  course  that  events  took  in  Peking  at 
that  time. 

"In  Paris  no  secret  was  made  of  the  part 
played  in  the  transaction  by  French  diplomacy. 
An  official  communique  from  the  Ministry 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  which  appeared  in  '  Le 
Temps  '  on  June  28th,  while  speaking  of  the 
important  part  reserved  to  French  industry 
in  providing  material  for  the  line,  frankly 
congratulated  the  country  on  a  success 
achieved." 

We  will  pass,  then,  to  1910,  in  which  year 
the  British  section  of  the  Kowloon-Canton 
line  was  opened  by  Sir  Henry  May.  Not 
much  change  had  taken  place  since  1908, 
except  that  the  Peking-Kalgan  line  had  been 
built  and  the  Tientsin-Pukow  line  had  been 

174 


RAILWAYS 

partly  constructed.  Shanghai  had  been  linked 
to  Hangchowfu  and  Honanfu  had  been  joined 
up  to  Kaifengfu. 

Down  in  Southern  China  Amoy  was  pushing 
out  a  little  piece  of  track  to  Changchowfu, 
whilst  the  Canton  merchants  had  begun  to 
extend  their  line  northwards  towards  Hankow, 
but  they  had  progressed  little  more  than 
some  seventy  or  eighty  miles.  In  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Macao  the  Chiangmen-Sanchiahai 
line  was  partly  constructed.  Beyond  these 
changes  there  is  little  to  chronicle.  However, 
Mr.  W.  P.  Ker,  H.B.M.  Attache  at  Peking, 
gave  a  list  of  Chinese  projected  lines  in  that 
year.  No  doubt  they  make  dull  reading,  but 
if  China's  railway  development  would  be 
followed  this  list  cannot  be  passed  over. 
These  lines  were  as  follows  : 

1.  Kirin-Changchun(Kuanchengtzu).  This 
line  has  since  been  completed,  but  it  can 
hardly  interest  us  very  much,  because  it  is 
in  Manchuria. 

2.  Kirin-Hunchun.  This  line  has  not  yet 
been  built,  although  it  probably  will  be 
undertaken  in  the  near  future.  It  is  the 
eastern  extension  of  No.  1. 

3.  Chinchowfu-Aigun.  This  line  has  re- 
cently been  abandoned  in  deference  to 
Japanese  wishes.  The  preliminary  agreement 
was  signed  in  1910  for  an  American  loan  and 

175 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

British  construction.  But  China  was  not 
permitted  to  build  this  railway  in  her  own 
territories,  because  Russia  and  Japan  op- 
posed it. 

4.  Kalgan-Suiyuanfu.  This  line  will  pro- 
bably be  built  by  China,  but  it  may  eventually 
fall  into  Belgian  hands. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Belgians 
already  have  an  interest  in  the  Peking-Kalgan 
line,  as  the  £1,000,000  Loan  contracted  early 
in  1912  by  Tang  Shou  Yi  was  secured  by  this 
railway. 

Furthermore,  a  point,  Tatungfu,  on  this 
route  will  now  be  the  terminal  of  the  last  big 
Belgian  railway  undertaking.  The  contract 
for  this  was  signed  by  M.  de  Voss  for  the 
Belgian  and  French  Syndicate  on  August  14th, 
1913.  Although  this  Loan  has  yet  to  be 
sanctioned  by  the  Chinese  Parliament,  memor- 
anda of  the  Agreement  have  been  exchanged 
between  the  Syndicate  and  the  Chinese 
Government.  The  Loan  amounts  to  £10,000,000 
at  5%,  and  the  enterprise  is  immense.  Truly 
the  Belgians  have  secured  a  big  prize  in 
obtaining  the  construction  of  this  railway. 
The  line  is  to  extend  from  Chengtufu  (in 
Szechuan)  through  Hsianfu  (in  Shensi)  and 
Taiyuanfu  (in  Shansi)  to  Tatungfu  on  the 
Peking-Kalgan  extension.  It  is  to  be  the 
third  big  trunk-line  to  join  up  Northern  with 

176 


RAILWAYS 

Central  China,  and  when  in  course  of  time 
Chengtufu  joins  up  with  Yunnanfu  it  will  be 
the  longest  of  the  three. 

5.  Chengtingfu-Techow  Railway.  To  con- 
nect the  Pekin-Hankow  Railway  with  the 
other  big  trunk-line  which  runs  from  Tientsin 
to  Pukow.  This  line  is  not  yet  built,  but  it 
is  being  talked  about. 

6.  Chefoo-Weihsien.  To  connect  Chefoo 
with  the  Shantung  system.  This  line  is  not 
yet  built,  but  it  is  being  talked  about. 

7.  Tatungfu-Puchowfu.  To  connect  Shansi 
province  with  the  Shensi  railways  at  Tung- 
kwan.  This  is  all  included  in  the  new  Belgian 
railway  concession,  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made. 


8.  Tungkwan-Honanfu 

9.  Hsianfu-Tungkwan 

10.  Hsianfu-Lanchowfu 

11.  Lanchowfu-Ilifu 

12.  Kaifeng-Hsuchoufu 

13.  Hsuchowfu-Ching- 

chiangfu 

14.  Chingchiangfu-Haichow 

or  the  Sea 


These  are  all 
sections  of  the 
other  great  Bel- 
gian railway 
undertaking  to 
link  up  the  dis- 
tant province 
of  Kansu  with 
the  sea. 


Now  before  we  go  on  with  Mr.  Ker's  list  we 
must  examine  these  two  enormous  trunk-lines, 
which  are  going  to  be  constructed  with  Belgian 
N  177 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

money.  In  another  part  of  this  book  refer- 
ence has  already  been  made  to  Belgium 
coming  to  China  without  soldiers.  We  might 
almost  go  so  far  as  to  say  she  comes  to  China 
without  diplomats.  Certainly  her  diplomats 
are  very  little  heard  of  at  Peking,  because 
probably  they  are  wise  enough  to  remember 
that  they  represent  a  business  people,  and 
that  political  interference  with  Chinese  do- 
mestic affairs  does  not  pay  commercially. 
If  Belgium  lends  money  to  China,  she  is  far 
too  wise  to  ask  how  it  is  going  to  be  spent. 
All  she  asks  for  is  good  security.  Look  at  the 
loan  contracted  by  Tang  Shou  Yi  in  March  1912. 
Belgium  lent  £1,000,000  to  China  upon  the 
security  of  the  Peking-Kalgan  Railway. 

It  never  entered  Belgian  minds  to  ask  how 
the  money  would  be  spent.  It  was  sufficient 
to  float  the  loan  without  also  desiring  to 
spend  it.  The  security  was  certainly  good — 
in  fact,  the  Belgians  were  looking  out  for 
good  commercial  advantages  rather  than  for 
empty  political  ones,  and  while  the  other 
nations  quarrelled  for  the  bone,  Belgium 
sucked  out  the  marrow.  It  is,  of  course, 
impossible  entirely  to  separate  finance  from 
politics  or  commerce  from  either.  But  politics 
should  be  looked  upon  by  foreigners  in  China 
as  subsidiary  to  commerce,  and  not  of  major 
importance  to  it.  Western  nations  sometimes 
overrate  the   benefits   of   their  own    type   of 

178 


RAILWAYS 

civilization  when  they  set  about  forcing  it 
down  Oriental  throats.  India  has  progressed 
under  British  rule,  it  is  true,  but  this  progress 
is  due  much  more  to  Great  Britain  policing 
that  country  than  to  any  system  of  govern- 
ment borrowed  from  the  West.  In  time  of 
peace  any  country  will  go  ahead.  In  time  of 
civil  war  or  insurrection  any  country  is  bound 
to  lose  ground. 

It  is  marvellous  what  strides  China  has 
taken  in  spite  of  her  last  few  years  of  revolu- 
tion. But  because  her  political  waters  have 
been  troubled,  ought  foreign  nations  to  fish 
in  them  ?  That  is  the  question  China  natur- 
ally asks  herself.  The  Chinese  people  and 
the  Chinese  officials  are  very  jealous  of  their 
native  land's  integrity.  Because  the  Chinese 
is  by  nature  a  trader  rather  than  a  soldier  it 
does  not  follow  that  patriotism  is  absent.  It 
is  not  absent,  but  it  appears  in  a  different 
form  from  that  which  the  Westerner  expects, 
and  so  he  fails  to  recognize  it. 

When  a  nation  like  the  Belgian  comes  to 
China  to  do  a  business  deal  without  seeking 
to  interfere  in  China's  domestic  affairs,  the 
Chinese  Government  becomes  much  more 
responsive.  And  what  is  the  result  ?  The 
trading  nation  soon  finds  herself  in  a  far 
better  position  than  the  ones  which  use 
coercive  methods.  W^ith  the  former  China 
likes  to  do  business ;  with  the  latter  she  does 

179 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

it  only  under  a  cloud  of  suspicion  and  mutual 
distrust.  Had  the  diplomats  kept  their  hands 
off  the  Big  Loan  negotiations,  those  negotia- 
tions would  have  been  concluded  months 
earlier. 

Other  nations  wailed  when  they  heard  of 
Belgium  securing  her  loan  on  the  Peking- 
Kalgan  Railway.  We  now  hear  of  her  getting 
the  Chengtufu-Tatungfu  Railway  contract. 
She  had  already  pocketed  the  order  to  build 
the  Great  East  and  West  trunk-line  from 
Kansu  to  the  sea.  The  Department  of  Com- 
munications signed  this  loan  agreement  with 
the  Belgian  Railway  and  Tramway  Company 
on  September  24th,  1912. 

Just  imagine  the  magnitude  of  those  two 
projects.  Picture  the  business  they  will  entail 
in  Antwerp,  in  Brussels  and  in  France.  The 
engines  to  be  constructed,  the  engineers  to  be 
sent  out.  Two  big  trunk-lines — one  from 
north  to  south,  the  other  from  east  to  west. 
The  Hanyehping  Steel  Works  could  not 
possibly  supply  rails  for  more  than  a  fraction 
of  these  huge  undertakings.  What  country 
will  chiefly  benefit  by  the  order  for  steel 
rails.  America  ?  Germany  ?  England  ?  No, 
Belgium — the  land  which  lends  without  trying 
to  secure  political  advantages  ;  the  land  which 
pays  more  attention  to  business  than  to 
wrangling  ;  the  land  which  does  not  hold  a 
bayonet  to  China's  throat.     In  this  case  the 

180 


RAILWAYS 

Chinese  Steel  Works  above-mentioned  is  not 
likely  to  be  called  upon  for  even  the  fractional 
amount  of  material  it  could  supply,  for  under 
both  these  huge  railway  contracts  the  Belgians 
have  the  monopoly  to  furnish  the  whole 
equipment.  Think  of  it  !  The  whole  equip- 
ment for  some  two  thousand  miles  of  railway. 

Other  foreign  nations  may  well  look  glum 
when  they  think  of  these  lines.  They  prove 
how  Belgian  interests  have  shot  up,  as  it  were, 
in  a  night.  They  show  the  futility  of  bullying 
China  instead  of  helping  her.  But  these 
important  agreements  were  negotiated  and 
signed  up  in  absolute  secrecy  when  the 
Group  bankers  and  diplomats  thought  they 
held  China  securely  bound  in  chains  of  gold. 

The  shock  these  gentlemen  received  on 
September  24th,  1912,  was  bad  enough,  but 
the  succeeding  one  of  August  14th,  1913, 
must  have  come  down  upon  them  like  a  bolt 
from  the  blue.  They  must  have  realized 
that  the  Belgians  had  brought  off  one  of  the 
biggest  coups  of  modern  times,  and  their 
lack  of  consideration  for  China's  necessity, 
in  regulating  their  Chinese  finance  policy 
from  the  Balkans,  really  called  for  some  such 
lesson  in  national  politeness. 

The  representatives  of  the  Compagnie  Gene- 
rale  de  Chemins  de  fer  et  de  Tramways  en 
Chine  certainly  let  no  grass  grow  under  their 
feet.     They    stole    a    march    on    the    Group 

181 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

financiers,  backed  up  as  they  were  by  Govern- 
ment officials.  They  took  their  opponents  by 
surprise  when  resting  by  the  summer  sea  in 
self-complacent  security. 

China  may  have  been  partly  influenced  by 
gratitude  to  these  Belgian  operators,  giving 
them  these  railway  plums  because  they  came 
forward  in  March  1912  with  a  million  of  money 
at  a  time  when  China  sorely  needed  it,  and 
when  she  bitterly  resented  having  to  submit 
to  the  spur  which  the  Group  financiers  applied 
without  short  measure.  But  other  causes  be- 
sides gratitude  must  have  been  at  work.  The 
Belgians  evidently  were  much  more  wide- 
awake than  were  the  representatives  of  other 
nations,  who  might  have  participated  in  these 
undertakings. 

The  Belgians  also  had  a  distinct  advantage 
in  that  they  were  not  participators  in  the 
Group's  Big  Loan.  If  they  had  been,  they 
would  have  been  prevented  from  making 
the  loan  they  made  in  March  1912.  They 
would  have  been  stopped  by  a  threat  of  losing 
diplomatic  support.  They  also  must  have 
understood  China's  little  ways  to  have  secured 
such  lavish  treatment  as  they  have.  We 
are  tempted  to  wonder  whether  it  is  a  coinci- 
dence that  both  these  huge  railway  contracts 
of  1912  and  1913  should  have  been  signed  at 
a  period  of  the  year  when  Peking  is  least  full. 

During  the  summer  North  China  becomes 
182 


RAILWAYS 

extremely  hot,  so  that  all  well-to-do  people 
hurry  off  to  Japan,  or  to  Europe,  or  to  the 
seaside  for  the  months  of  July  and  August, 
and  they  do  not  return  to  the  capital  before 
September,  unless  they  are  compelled  to  do 
so.  It  is  only  to  be  expected  that  a  financial 
firm,  which  hopes  to  secure  an  important 
concession  secretly,  should  wait  until  jealous 
rivals  have  gone  to  bathe  in  the  silver  sea. 
In  this  case  the  bathers  came  out  late,  but 
only  to  find  their  clothes  had  been  stolen  in 
the  meanwhile.  It  was  no  use  being  angry 
about  it.  The  Belgians  were  out  in  China 
for  business,  just  the  same  as  everybody  else. 
They  could  hardly  be  blamed  if  the  Chinese 
Government  showed  a  disposition  to  treat 
them  with  an  exceptionally  marked  liberality. 

How  far  these  Belgian  railway  contracts 
will  affect  China's  political  future  cannot  be 
foreseen  at  the  present  time.  Russian 
diplomacy  may  be  mixed  up  in  them,  as  has 
been  so  often  reported,  or  Russia  may  have 
no  concern  with  them  whatever,  as  M.  de 
Voss,  as  well  as  the  Russian  Minister  at 
Peking,  have  both  declared.  Probably  Russia 
is  not  actively  interested  in  these  undertakings 
at  the  moment,  although  some  understanding 
may  exist  about  the  Peking-Kalgan  extension 
line.  That  line,  of  all  others,  is  particularly 
important  to  Russia. 

In  little  ways  we  may  follow  the  working- 

183 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

out  of  Russian  annexation  schemes  through 
railway  enterprise.  She  has  begun  to  build  a 
line  southwards  from  near  Lake  Baikal  to 
Kiakhta  on  the  Mongolian  frontier.  That 
this  line  will  eventually  make  its  way  to  Urga 
goes  without  saying.  It  will  soon  be  a 
continuation  of  the  Peking-Kalgan  extension. 
On  July  4th,  1913,  Russia  also  demanded 
repayment  of  the  £400,000  Loan  which  was 
made  to  China  on  account  of  the  Chengtingfu- 
Taiyuanfu  Railway.  On  that  date  the  Rus- 
sian Minister  reminded  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment that  the  time  for  repayment  had  passed, 
and  that,  if  the  sum  could  not  be  paid,  a 
portion  of  the  line  must  be  placed  under 
Russian  control. 

With  these  little  facts  in  front  of  us  we 
may  perhaps  be  inclined  to  take  the  Russian 
Minister's  denial  of  interest  in  the  Belgian 
contracts  with  some  reserve.  The  significant 
point  is  that  the  Compagnie  Generate  de 
Chemins  de  fer  et  de  Tramways  brings  into 
effect  the  identical  scheme  which  the  Russians 
long  ago  cherished  of  obtaining  domination 
in  certain  spheres  in  China.  The  Russian 
scheme  was  to  drive  a  line  from  Andijan,  the 
terminal  of  the  trans-Caspian  system,  to 
Kashgar  and  onwards  right  through  Chinese 
Turkestan  to  Suchow  and  Lanchowfu,  and 
thence  through  Honan  to  the  sea  somewhere 
at  the   old   mouth   of  the   Yellow   River,    or 

184 


RAILWAYS 

perhaps  nearer  the  Yangtse  mouth.  From 
Suchow,  in  Kansu,  to  the  sea  is  now  in  the 
control  of  this  Belgian  syndicate. 

The  other  Russian  project  was  the  one 
we  have  already  considered — to  join  Lake 
Baikal  with  Urga  and  Kalgan,  and  to  drop  a 
line  of  railway  southwards  through  Shansi. 
Nearly  all  this  route  is  also  in  Belgian  hands, 
in  so  far  as  the  Chinese  portion  of  it  is  con- 
cerned. "  The  Far  Eastern  Review "  has 
summed  up  the  situation  in  a  remarkably  able 
article,  as  follows  : 

"  Russia,  in  the  latter  years  of  the  Manchu 
regime,  used  every  possible  influence  to  secure 
the  rights  for  these  lines,  but  the  Manchus — 
corrupt,  short-sighted,  and  disregardful  of 
the  welfare  of  China  as  they  might  have 
been,  and  as  they  were  alleged  to  have  been — 
never  once  lost  sight  of  the  danger  that 
lurked  in  such  a  proposition,  and  they  success- 
fully resisted  every  move  made  and  every 
blandishment  offered  to  seduce  them  to  forget 
what  they  believed  to  be  the  best  interests 
of  their  country.  They  declined  to  employ 
European  money  in  this  direction  at  any  cost. 

"  So  scrupulous  were  they,  indeed,  to  avoid 
complications  which  might  give  the  claws 
of  the  Bear  even  an  indirect  hold  upon  the 
carcass  of  their  country  that  they  would 
never,  under  any  circumstances,  hypothecate 
the  Peking-Kalgan  lines  as  security  for  any 

185 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

loan  floated  by  European  financiers.  Not 
even  the  terrible  temptation  caused  by  the 
dire  lack  of  funds  which  threatened  their 
tottering  throne  during  the  Revolution  caused 
them  to  weaken  in  this  resolve. 

"  They  could  have  had  money  on  the 
security  of  the  Peking-Kalgan  Railway  which 
might  well  have  turned  the  scale  in  their 
favour,  but  they  forewent  it — and  they  fell. 

"  Yet  what  did  we  see  ?  We  saw  the 
Premier  of  this  young  Republic — which,  it  was 
claimed,  would  tread  underfoot  the  corruption 
and  the  neglect  of  country  which  characterized 
the  Manchus — pledge  that  line  as  security  for 
a  million  sterling  from  the  Belgians  almost 
within  one  month  of  the  abdication  of  the 
alleged  '  rapacious  enemies  of  China.' 

"  Thus  the  Republicans  broke  down  with- 
out a  moment's  hesitation  what  was  a  tradi- 
tion with  the  Manchus.  Nor  was  that  enough. 
Within  one  and  a  half  years  of  the  abdication 
of  the  Manchus,  the  Government  has  given  to 
European  financiers,  who  are  alleged,  rightly 
or  wrongly,  to  be  influenced  by  Russian 
interests,  the  very  railways  which  Russia 
strove  vainly  to  obtain  from  the  Manchus." 

Let  us  now  return  to  Mr.  Ker's  list  of 
railways  projected  in  1910. 

15.  Chingchiangpu-Kwachou(on  the  Yangtse 
opposite    the    Chinkiang    Railway).     It    was 

186 


RAILWAYS 

proposed  to  build  the  line  from  T'ungchou 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Yangtse  through  Ching- 
chiangpu  and  on  to  Haichow.  The  loan 
agreement  to  build  the  section  from  Tunchow 
to  Chingchiangpu  was  recently  abandoned, 
however,  owing  to  the  proposed  line  con- 
flicting with  a  section  of  the  Haichow-Lanchow 
Railway. 

16.  Hsinyangchow-Fengyang  or  Pukow. 
This  line  is  now  about  to  be  constructed  by 
the  British  and  Chinese  Corporation's 
£3,000,000  Loan,  but  it  is  not  probable  that 
Pukow  will  be  a  connection.  A  glance  at  the 
map  will  show  that  this  line  is  intended  to 
link  up  the  two  big  trunk-lines  now  running 
from  Northern  to  Central  China. 

17.  Chaochowfu  or  Swatow  via  Waichow 
to  Sheklung.  This  is  part  of  the  scheme 
to  run  railways  all  along  the  coast.  Not  yet 
built. 

18.  Macao-Fashan.    Ditto.     Not  yet  built. 

19.  Kweilin-Chuanchow  (Kwangsi).  This 
is  part  of  the  bigger  scheme  to  join  up  Yunnan 
with  the  Hankow-Canton  Railway  at  Heng- 
choufu. 

20.  Langson-Lunchow.  To  link  up  the 
Tonquin  railways  with   the   Chinese  system. 

21.  Yunnanfu-Szechuan.  This  will  event- 
ually be  the  extension  of  China's  third  great 
trunk  railway,  extending  from  north  to 
south.     It  will  join  Yunnanfu  with  Chengtufu. 

187 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

22.  Bhamo-Tengyueh.  To  join  up  Burma 
with  Yunnan.     Nothing  decided  yet. 

With  these  various  projects  it  will  be  seen 
that,  owing  to  revolutions  and  other  causes, 
very  little  real  progress  has  been  made  since 
1910.  The  one  outstanding  completed  piece 
of  work  is  the  Tientsin-Pukow  Railway,  with 
its  extension  to  Shanghai,  that  can  be  pointed 
to  with  pride  as  a  fait  accompli.  At  the  same 
time,  some  progress  is  now  being  made  through 
the  £6,000,000  Loan  floated  in  1911  for  con- 
tinuing the  Peking-Hankow  line  southwards 
from  Wuchang  through  Changsha  eventually  to 
join  up  with  Canton,  as  well  as  to  carry  the 
Yangtse  Valley  line  westwards  beyond  Ichang. 
To  the  English,  German,  and  American  sec- 
tions qualified  engineers  have  already  been 
appointed. 

This  railway  system  is  generally  known  as 
the  Hukuang  Railways.  Work  has,  how- 
ever, been  delayed  more  than  once  owing  to 
political  disturbances  upsetting  the  Loan.  Tsen 
Chun  Hsuan  was  originally  made  Director- 
General  of  these  lines,  but  when  he  became 
General-in-Chief  of  the  Anti-Yuan  forces  he 
resigned.  In  his  place  the  Vice-Minister  of 
the  Board  of  Communications  was  appointed. 

After  the  fall  of  the  Manchus,  the  foreign 
bankers  insisted  upon  revising  their  loan 
agreement  because   the   security  upon  which 

188 


RAILWAYS 

it  was  based  had  been  undermined.  More 
recently  the  Anti-Yuan  revolt  has  upset  things 
again,  but  preliminary  work  is  now  being 
proceeded  with,  pending  a  satisfactory  ar- 
rangement being  arrived  at  with  the  bankers. 

It  is  quite  impossible  within  the  scope  of 
one  chapter  to  pay  attention  to  every  little 
piece  of  railway-track  which  is  being  proposed 
or  actually  laid  down  in  the  whole  of  China's 
vast  territory.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  pro- 
posals to  link  up  Mukden  with  Peking  via 
Jehol,  to  link  up  Nanchangfu  with  Pinghsiang, 
to  join  Anking  with  Chengyangkuan,  and 
Kiaochow  with  Yichowfu  are  now  assuming 
some  definite  shape. 

In  addition  to  these  lines  Yunnan  is  be- 
coming a  centre  of  railway  interest.  As  has 
already  been  mentioned  in  another  chapter  of 
this  book,  Messrs.  Carlowitz  recently  made  a 
bold  bid  to  secure  mining  concessions  in 
Yunnan  under  the  offer  of  railway  construction, 
and,  it  must  be  remembered,  Yunnan  is  one 
of  the  most  promising  provinces  in  all  China 
from  a  mining  point  of  view. 

In  1912  it  was  proposed  to  build  the  Yunnan- 
Kueilin  Railway,  and  the  gentry  of  the  three 
provinces — Yunnan,  Kueichow,  and  Kwangsi — 
conferred  with  a  view  to  furthering  the  pro- 
ject. They  decided  to  start  a  subscription, 
and  perhaps  to  raise  a  foreign  loan.  They 
also    desired    to    form    a    coalition    with    the 

189 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Szechuan-Hankow-Canton  Railway,  and  they 
elected  the  Director-General  of  those  lines, 
Tsen  Chun  Hsuan,  to  be  their  Director- 
General.  But  Tsen  Chun  Hsuan  later  became 
a  rebel  leader,  and  resigned  his  place  on  the 
board,  as  mentioned  above. 

To  sum  up  all  these  various  completed  or 
half-completed  railway  projects  : — China  is 
going  to  have  three  main  trunk-lines  running 
from  north  to  south.  These  all  start  within 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles'  radius  of  Peking, 
and  as  they  run  south  the  outer  ones  radiate 
outwards  like  a  fan.  They  will  join  up,  respec- 
tively, Peking  with  Shanghai,  Peking  with 
Canton,  and  Peking  with  Yunnanfu.  These 
big  trunk-lines  are  going  to  radiate  outwards 
from  Peking  in  the  same  way  that  the  old 
Chinese  highways  used  to  do. 

The  latter  have  long  since  fallen  into 
disrepair,  but  their  courses  can  still  be  traced 
by  the  enormous  flag- stones  with  which  they 
were  paved.  Their  cost  of  construction  and 
up-keep  must  have  been  enormous,  but  the 
cost  of  constructing  railway-tracks  is  not 
light.  On  the  Kowloon-Canton  Railway,  for 
example,  there  was  a  mile  and  three-quarters 
of  tunnelling  in  the  first  twenty-two  miles. 
This  item  alone  cost  $3,700,000.  The  cost 
of  the  untunnelled  twenty  miles  and  a  half 
worked  out  at  about  $6,500,000,  inclusive  of 
workshops  and  equipment.     This  railway,  of 

190 


RAILWAYS 

course,  was  built  eventually  to  receive  a 
double  track,  and  if  its  track  were  doubled 
the  cost  would  work  out  to  about  $370,000 
per  mile.  If  the  bridges  and  cuttings  had 
been  built  solely  for  a  single  line,  it  would 
have  worked  out  at  $240,268  per  mile. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  Tientsin-Pukow 
Railway.  The  northern  section  was  constructed 
under  German  supervision.  The  southern  was 
constructed  under  British  supervision.  The 
cost  of  the  northern  or  German  section 
worked  out  to  £10,473  per  mile.  Or,  if  the 
cost  of  the  Yellow  River  bridge  be  excluded,  to 
£9,160  per  mile.  The  total  milage  of  this 
section  was  457  miles. 

The  cost  of  the  southern  or  British  section 
worked  out  to  £9,606  per  mile,  and  it  had  a 
total  milage  of  236|  miles.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  compare  old  Chinese  statistics  of 
stone  road  construction  against  these  figures. 

But  think  what  benefits  the  railway  brings 
to  man,  to  industry  and  to  civilization. 
Civilization  is  carried  by  the  ton  in  every 
truck  that  runs.  It  is  also  carried  at  re- 
markably cheap  rates.  If  it  were  dumped 
into  carts,  either  the  axle  of  a  wheel  would 
break  or  the  civilization  would  get  jolted 
out.  Moreover,  cartage  rates  in  China  are 
very  expensive.  In  winter-time,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ilsinmintun,  it  costs  $1.50  to 
cart   a   ton   of    soya-beans   seventeen    miles. 

191 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

By  railway  a  similar  distance  would  probably 
cost  seventeen  cents.  Near  Mukden  the  cost 
of  carting  a  ton  of  beans  works  out  at  ten 
cents  to  the  mile. 

The  railway,  therefore,  is  a  hundred  times 
quicker,  as  well  as  being  ten  times  cheaper, 
than  country  cart  transport.  China  is  also 
going  to  have  three  main  trunk-lines  running 
from  east  to  west.  Two  of  these  are  being 
put  in  hand  now.  The  third  and  southern- 
most is  rather  more  behindhand  in  its  de- 
velopment. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  fan's  handle  is  now 
to  be  Shanghai.  This  busy  seaport  will  be 
the  ultimate  place  of  convergence  for  the 
east  to  west  lines,  which  Peking  becomes  for 
those  from  north  to  south.  When  these  lines 
are  built,  they  will  run  more  or  less  directly 
from  Shanghai  to  Lanchoufu,  from  Shanghai 
to  Chengtufu,  and  from  Shanghai  to  Yunnanfu. 

Now  a  very  marked  change  is  coming  over 
China's  railway  development.  All  her  railways 
are  becoming  nationalized.  Within  this  last 
year  one  provincial  railway  company  after 
another  has  been  brought  within  the  national 
fold.  But  that  is  not  all.  Their  systems  of 
keeping  accounts  are  to  be  unified,  and 
these  two  changes  alone  will  prove  to  critical 
onlookers  what  strides  China  is  making  along 
the  pathway  of  reform. 

It  certainly  is  high  time  something  was  done 
192 


RAILWAYS 

towards  the  unification  of  railway  accounts, 
for  they  have  shown  themselves  badly  in  need 
of  it.  Hitherto  some  of  them  have  been  kept 
in  English,  while  others  have  been  kept  in 
Chinese.  Some  of  them  have  been  kept 
in  French  or  German  or  Japanese.  Some 
would  almost  seem  to  have  been  kept  with 
the  special  object  of  making  the  money's 
expenditure  difficult  to  follow.  And  then 
several  were  faulty  through  sheer  ignorance, 
crass  stupidity,  or  gross  neglect. 

Just  as  England  took  strong  measures  in 
1868  to  regulate  her  railway  accounts  by 
passing  the  Regulation  of  Railways  Act,  so 
China  intends  to  take  up  the  question  at  the 
earliest  opportunity.  But  there  is  a  big 
difference  between  English  and  Chinese  rail- 
way companies.  The  English  companies 
realize  the  benefit  of  securing  uniformity  in 
their  balance-sheets,  whereas  the  Chinese  com- 
panies will  probably  object  to  interference 
with  their  existing  methods.  It  will  probably 
be  found  more  difficult  than  in  England  to 
get  them  to  institute  a  standing  committee 
to  secure  uniformity  of  practice  among  all 
railway  companies  in  rendering  their  accounts. 
In  past  days  theft  and  laisser-faire  have 
clogged  railway  enterprise  in  China,  but 
Chinese  officials  have  profited  by  such  a  state 
of  affairs,  and  they  will  not  want  to  change. 

These    officials    have    never    been    trusted 
o  193 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

even  by  their  own  countrymen.  The  public 
well  knew  that  if  they  subscribed  money  or 
took  shares  in  any  purely  Chinese  under- 
taking they  obtained  no  return  for  their 
money  either  on  paper  or  on  the  railway- 
track.  Recriminations  followed,  directors  re- 
signed, and  nothing  was  done.  Foreigners 
saw  their  opportunity  and  rushed  in.  But 
they  often  rushed  in  with  terms  which  were 
outrageously  one-sided. 

The  whole  object  of  this  book  is  to  clamour 
for  fair  treatment  for  China.  It  is  admitted 
that  guarantees  are  needed  in  any  financial 
dealings.  More  particularly  are  they  neces- 
sary in  dealing  with  an  Oriental  nation.  More 
necessary  still  do  they  become  when  that 
nation's  past  is  one  long  record  of  duplicity 
and  corruption,  such  as  China's  past  has  been. 
But  the  British  public  should  object  very 
strongly  to  foreigners  looking  upon  China  as 
a  helpless  milch-cow  only  to  be  despoiled. 

In  a  recent  railway  loan  agreement  con- 
tracted between  the  British  and  China  Cor- 
poration and  the  Chinese  Government  over 
the  Pu-Hsin  Railway  a  fair  mean  seems  to 
have  been  attained,  judging  from  the  following 
extract  of  a  ministerial  despatch  : 

"  In  comparison  with  the  Shanghai-Nanking 
Railway,  this  contract  affords  many  more 
advantages  to  the  Chinese.  Besides  this,  the 
Syndicate     agrees    to    make    advances,    the 

194 


RAILWAYS 

Director-General  has  the  liberty  of  locating 
the  line,  the  amount  of  commission  is  reduced, 
and  the  bonus  is  dispensed  with.  In  general, 
we  have  obtained  all  we  can  expect,  and  the 
right  mean  is  attained,  etc.,  etc." 

Very  different  is  the  agreement  which  China 
entered  into  with  Germany  to  build  jointly 
the  Kiaochow-Yichowfu  Railway.  The  pro- 
posal was  shelved  for  some  time,  as  China 
had  no  funds.  But  recently  the  Chinese 
Foreign  Office  received  from  the  German 
Minister  a  note  to  the  following  effect :  (1) 
China  shall  give  permission  to  Germany  to 
build  the  Kiaochow-Yichowfu  Railway,  pass- 
ing and  connecting  with  the  Tsinanfu  Railway. 
(2)  Within  30  li  of  the  line  the  Germans 
shall  have  control  of  mining.  It  is  also 
reported  that  the  German  Minister  called 
upon  the  Chinese  Foreign  Office,  and  intimated 
that  if  a  decision  was  not  come  to  within 
eighteen  days,  Germany  would  proceed  with 
the  building  of  the  line. 

Now,  the  exact  length  of  this  line  is  not 
important,  but  it  might  be,  approximately, 
120  miles.  A  ten-mile  stretch  on  either  side 
of  the  track  would  give  Germany  control  of 
all  mining  operations  over  an  extent  of  some 
2,400  square  miles — not  an  inconsiderable 
commission  to  accept  for  helping  one  Chinese 
province  with  its  transport  difficulties.  There 
can   be   no  doubt    about  it — such   a   line   of 

195 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

railway  undermines  China's  integrity,  though 
it  may  operate  in  opening  up  her  mines. 

We  have  already  remarked  Germany's  offer 
during  the  Big  Loan  negotiations  not  to  object 
to  an  Englishman  being  appointed  to  look 
after  the  Salt  Gabelle,  provided  Germany 
should  be  given  control  of  both  sections  of  the 
Tientsin-Pukow  Railway. 

Under  these  railway  schemes  Germany  has 
designs  on  a  province.  She  has  a  big  popu- 
lation. Her  colonies  are  few.  She  has  clam- 
oured for  a  place  in  the  sun  for  a  very  long 
time  past.  She  has  followed,  very  carefully, 
the  actions  of  Great  Britain  in  India,  France 
in  Cochin  China,  Russia  in  Mongolia,  and 
Japan  in  Korea.  She  wishes  to  secure  her 
footing  in  Shantung,  and  she  seeks  to  do  this 
through  the  Shantung  railways. 

The  latest  railway  agreement  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  line  from  Canton  to  Chungking, 
signed  by  the  Chinese  National  Railway  Cor- 
poration and  Messrs.  Pauling  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  has 
not  apparently  been  finally  sanctioned  yet, 
so  there  is  not  much  object  in  discussing  it. 
We  will,  therefore,  bring  our  consideration  of 
China's  railway  concerns  to  a  close. 


196 


CHAPTER   X 

CHINESE    LABOUR   OVERSEAS 

The  years  between  1904  and  1909  must  have 
brought  the  importance  of  mining  very  pro- 
minently before  Chinese  men  of  both  high 
and  low  station  alike.  During  that  period, 
the  South  Africa  system  of  Chinese  indentured 
labour  was  in  working  order,  and  busy  ships 
were  steaming  backwards  and  forwards  be- 
tween Durban  and  Chinwangtao,  carrying 
coolies  and  letters  from  coolies,  and  earnings 
to  be  spent  in  China,  all  upon  a  scale  hitherto 
unknown  to  the  Chinese  peasant's  mind. 

Machinery  and  head-gears  had  cast  their 
shadows  upon  the  most  distant  Chinese  homes, 
in  exact  proportion  as  the  sons  of  those 
homes  had  had  their  ears  deafened  by  falling 
stamps  or  the  ringing  of  "  skip  "  bells. 
Their  appetite  for  money  had  also  been 
stimulated  by  the  shillings  they  were  able  to 
acquire  on  the  Rand.  It  was  truly  a  busy 
time,  and  returned  coolies  told  tales  of  the 
white  man's  ways,  of  the  friends  who  had 
died  or  had  gone  to  prison,  of  their  conditions 

197 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

of  life  and  of  labour,  which  must  have  made 
ignorant  village  maidens  cackle  or  tremble 
or  marvel  at  the  big  South  African  world, 
whilst  fathers  and  mothers  grinned  and  won- 
dered what  the  stupid  "  black  devils  "  were 
like. 

In  their  calm  moments  of  reflection  in  the 
peaceful  kaoliang  fields,  these  Chinese  peasants 
must  have  pondered  over  the  highly- developed 
organizing  powers  of  the  industrial  man  of 
the  West.  Never  before  had  they  seen  such  a 
monument  raised  to  those  organizing  powers, 
because  never  before  had  such  a  huge  system 
of  indentured  labour  been  attempted  in  the 
whole  histories  of  man.  As  they  marvelled, 
they  pocketed  their  remittances,  and  were, 
no  doubt,  extremely  sorry  when  their  mining 
relatives  returned  to  the  cottage  home. 

The  questions  involved  in  the  organized 
employment  of  Chinese  labourers  overseas  are 
so  many  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  give 
them  all  space  within  the  narrow  limits  of 
this  chapter.  Moral  considerations  fight  with 
economic  considerations,  or  sometimes  dreams 
of  an  ideal  white  man's  democracy  step  in 
to  prevent  a  clear  judgment  being  formed 
upon  other  issues.  All  these  multitudinous 
points  of  view  received  more  than  a  little 
consideration  between  the  years  1904  and 
1908,  when  Chinese  slavery  became  a  political 
party-cry  in  England.     At  that  time  every- 

198 


CHINESE   LABOUR   OVERSEAS 

body  turned  this  little  labour  truth,  or  that 
little  labour  lie,  to  suit  his  own  particular 
interests.  Now  there  is  a  prospect  of  these 
dormant  questions  coming  into  prominence 
again,  because  Chinese  labour  is  about  to  be 
organized  for  British  North  Borneo.  It  is 
also  being  clamoured  for  from  two  other 
quarters — namely,  the  Belgian  Congo  and 
Fiji — so  that  the  chances  of  renewed  interest 
in  the  subject  are  great.  For  these  reasons 
we  will  now  consider  some  of  its  more  salient 
features. 

The  first  point  of  importance  to  anybody  who 
proposes  to  export  yellow  labourers  abroad  is 
the  land  into  which  he  proposes  to  import  them. 
If  it  has  white  ideals,  such  as  Canada,  America, 
or  South  Africa,  then  an  indentured  system 
is  the  only  one  possible  ;  but  there  must  be  a 
strict  understanding  that  every  Chinaman 
shall  be  returned  to  his  home  when  his  term 
of  indenture  is  over.  If  the  colony  to  which 
these  men  are  being  sent  should  happen  to 
be  a  "  melting-pot  "  colony  like  Mauritius  or 
British  Guiana,  then  these  men  may  improve 
the  land's  indigenous  stock,  and  may  be 
even  encouraged  to  stay  on  after  their  inden- 
ture is  over.  In  British  Guiana,  for  example, 
the  East  Indians  who  are  imported  from 
oversea  to  work  the  sugar-plantations  are 
indentured  for  five  years'  work,  but  for  ten 
years'   residence.     They  are  allowed  to  take 

199 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

up  government  rice  land  very  cheaply,  and 
every  effort  is  made  to  induce  them  to  make 
British  Guiana  their  home. 

But  British  Guiana  is  not  a  white  man's 
land.  Geography  and  a  tropical  sun  have 
mapped  out  another  future  for  it.  White  men 
cannot  work  in  the  fields,  and  the  complexions 
of  its  inhabitants  range  from  black,  through 
liver,  to  jaundice.  In  a  white  man's  colony  the 
yellow  man  cannot  absorb  readily,  and  he 
can  always  undersell,  owing  to  his  absence  of 
a  white  man's  "  wants."  In  any  community 
the  man  who  can  undersell  is  the  man  to  be 
feared.  He  is  the  really  strong  man.  If  any 
community  has  reason  to  suspect  this  po- 
tentiality in  a  stranger,  it  is  wise  to  keep  him 
outside  the  door.  Furthermore,  most  right- 
thinking  people  are  very  much  against  mixed 
breeding  between  East  and  West.  The  collie 
is  a  good  breed  of  dog ;  so  is  the  pug  ;  but 
do  not  mix  them.  Having  formed  his  con- 
clusions upon  these  anthropological  problems, 
the  importer  naturally  asks,  "  From  what  part 
of  China  ought  I  to  draw  my  coolies  ?  "  The 
answer  is,  "  From  the  north,  and  for  pre- 
ference from  the  villages  rather  than  from 
the  towns." 

The  organization  of  Chinese  labour  from 
the  south  has  been  tried  upon  more  than 
one  occasion,  but  it  has  never  been  successful. 
Vide    the    experiences    of    France    over   the 

200 


CHINESE   LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

construction  of  her  Tonquin  railways.  Vide 
the  Chinese  labour  experiment  which  was 
tried  in  British  Guiana  to  work  the  sugar 
estates  some  thirty-five  years  ago.  Vide 
the  batch  of  500  Cantonese  coolies  whom 
Mr.  Jamieson  had  under  his  command  on  the 
Rand  in  1905-6.  In  each  of  these  cases  it 
was  found  that  the  Chinaman  from  the  south 
is  more  trouble  than  he  is  worth. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Chinese  labourer 
from  the  country  districts  of  the  north  is  a 
most  excellent  worker,  besides  being  physically 
hard.  Much  care  is  necessary,  however,  in 
his  selection,  for  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  Chinese  law  is  infinitely  more  savage 
than  that  of  any  white  nation,  and  the  China- 
man has  endured  privations  for  so  many 
generations  that  prison  has  no  terrors  for  the 
Chinese  scamp.  Very  naturally  when  a  system 
of  labour  recruiting  starts  in  China  there  are 
numbers  of  these  scamps  desirous  of  escaping 
punishment  at  home  by  undertaking  to  labour 
abroad,  although  they  really  have  no  inten- 
tion of  doing  any  work  whatsoever. 

Now,  good  behaviour  amongst  coolies  inden- 
tured abroad  depends  not  upon  one  cause, 
but  upon  a  variety  of  causes.  Even  if  the 
greatest  care  be  exercised  at  the  recruiting 
depot  in  the  selection  of  candidates,  some  of 
these  causes  will  continue  to  tell  against  the 
employer's  interest  to  an    extent  that  would 

201 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

be   impossible   if  these   same   labourers   were 
on  contract  in  China. 

For  instance,  neighbours,  the  good  opinion 
of  neighbours,  the  talk  of  neighbours,  the 
labourer's  family,  his  father,  his  mother,  the 
environment  of  his  daily  life  in  China,  all  tend 
to  keep  his  conduct  more  or  less  in  a  state  of 
equilibrium.  Remove  those  forces  and  there  is 
danger  of  upsetting  this  condition  of  stability. 

When  he  is  indentured  abroad,  of  course, 
none  of  these  hidden  causes  act.  He  will 
probably  not  take  his  wife  or  family  with  him, 
even  if  his  contract  permits  him  to  do  so, 
besides  which  a  wife  in  China  has  not  been 
in  the  habit  of  taking  her  place  in  the  world 
as  she  does  in  western  lands.  A  gradual 
change  is  coming  over  the  scene  in  this 
respect,  but  it  will  be  many  years  before 
this  budding  change  filters  down  to  the 
villager's  hut. 

The  coolie's  good  behaviour  also  depends 
upon  good  management  and  good  organiza- 
tion. It  is  ridiculous  to  dump  down  batch 
after  batch  of  yellow  labourers  into  a  new 
country  where  they  are  absolutely  inarticulate 
without  expecting  trouble.  Coolie  inspectors, 
Chinese  interpreters,  separate  Chinese  courts 
of  justice,  will  have  to  be  thought  of  first. 

Of  one  thing  we  may  rest  assured — and  the 
writer  has  had  a  long  experience  of  dealing 
with    Chinese    and   East    Indian    labourers — 

202 


CHINESE   LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

every  complaint  must  be  looked  into,  whether 
it  appears  trivial  to  the  European  or  not. 
If  it  be  trivial,  and  the  European  finds  it  so, 
he  will,  of  course,  decide  against  the  petitioner, 
who  will  go  away  satisfied  ;  but  if  it  be  not 
looked  into,  the  Asiatic  will  go  away  nursing  a 
grievance. 

The  coolie's  good  behaviour  also  depends 
upon  the  man  under  whom  he  works.  If  this 
man  is  a  European  ganger,  it  is  probable  that 
he  will  be  a  low-born,  low-class  creature. 
In  that  case  he  will  display  the  virtues  and 
the  vices  of  his  class.  But  trouble  is  sure  to 
arise  if  the  ganger  "  in  his  cups  "  becomes 
familiar  with  his  Asiatic  underling,  and  then 
next  minute  deals  him  a  blow  in  the  mouth. 
That  sort  of  behaviour  no  Asiatic  understands. 
In  consequence  he  will  resent  it. 

Trouble  of  this  sort  was  particularly  fre- 
quent on  the  Rand  when  Chinese  were  there. 
The  European  ganger  had,  of  course,  not 
handled  Chinese  labourers  before.  His  ideas 
about  subject  races  began  and  ended  with 
the  Kaffir — the  lowest  of  all  human  races — 
and  he  not  unnaturally  treated  the  Chinese 
like  a  dog.  He  forgot  that  John  Chinaman, 
as  a  man,  can  compare  with  the  white  man, 
which  no  other  race  under  heaven  can  do. 
The  white  man's  power  lies  in  the  fact  that 
he  is  a  constructive  creature.  He  can  think 
out  great  undertakings.     He  can  build  stone 

203 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

cities.  He  can  invent.  John  Chinaman  has 
greater  endurance  than  the  white  man,  and  his 
constructive  abihties  are  nearly  as  marked. 

Compare  the  Japanese  :  he  is  almost  utterly 
imitative.  Where  is  his  Great  Wall  ?  What 
monuments  of  stone  or  legislation  has  the 
Japanese  contributed  to  the  world  ?  The 
same  remarks  apply  to  the  East  Indian. 
Has  he  constructed  anything  new  ? — a  motor- 
car ? — an  aeroplane  ?  With  the  possible  ex- 
ception of  the  Taj  Mahal,  can  we  recall  any- 
thing in  India  which  betokens  a  constructive 
people  ? 

But  the  Kaffir,  of  course,  is  beyond  a  hope. 
Take  away  the  white  man's  influence  and  the 
negro  instantly  sheds  his  coat  and  trousers. 
His  education  vanishes.  He  steps  once  more 
into  the  role  which  nature  intended  him  to 
play,  but  which  civilization  tries  to  upset — 
the  role  of  hewing  wood  and  drawing  water. 
He  goes  back  to  his  banana  and  his  dug-out 
canoe.  When  such  a  man  as  this  is  assaulted 
by  a  white  man,  even  a  low  ganger,  he  still 
feels  the  weight  of  the  white  man's  superiority. 
He  rarely  retaliates.  He  never  combines  with 
others  to  secure  revenge.  When,  however, 
John  Chinaman  is  assaulted  under  similar 
circumstances,  he  asks  himself  if  he  has 
deserved  punishment.  If  he  has  not,  he 
nurses  revenge,  and  will  combine  with  his 
friends  for  the  tyrant's  overthrow, 

204 


CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

Reasons  such  as  these  caused  the  riots 
which  occurred  in  mining  compounds  before 
properly  quahfied  Chinese  inspectors  were 
sent  out  to  South  Africa  in  1904-5.  After  the 
inspectors  had  arrived,  riots  practically  ceased, 
although  desertions  from  the  mines  were  never 
quite  checked. 

Although  the  Chinese  were  empowered  to 
take  their  women  with  them  to  South  Africa, 
very  few  availed  themselves  of  this  privilege, 
and  probably  this  was  a  good  thing,  from  a 
purely  South  African  point  of  view. 

But  if  the  country  into  which  it  is  proposed 
to  import  yellow  labour  should  be  a  "  melting- 
pot  "  colony,  where  Chinese  may  be  allowed 
to  live  and  settle  after  the  expiry  of  their 
indentures,  then  their  women  should  certainly 
accompany  them. 

To  British  Guiana  the  Bengali  Indians 
are  accompanied  by  their  wives.  The  latter 
are,  in  fact,  actually  indentured  as  labourers, 
and  they  perform  the  lighter  Ivinds  of  plan- 
tation work.  They  do  the  weeding  and 
some  of  the  cane-cutting,  but  none  of  the 
heavy  shovelling,  which  requires  a  physical 
endurance  to  be  expected  only  from  male 
labourers. 

Whether  the  Chinese  Government  would 
allow  peasant  women  to  be  indentured  abroad 
for  agricultural  work  we  do  not  know.  There 
is  no  reason  why  they  should  not.     Agricul- 

205 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

tural  work  is  the  only  kind  of  physical  labour 
which  the  Chinese  woman  does  perform  at 
present  in  her  own  country,  and  if  the  Indian 
Government  does  not  object  to  women  being 
indentured,  why  should  the  Chinese  ? 

The  woman  of  Asia  is  just  beginning  to 
peep  out  from  behind  the  purdah — timid,  but 
full  of  curiosity  to  see  what  the  great  world 
is  like.  That  she  was  the  complement  of 
man  in  a  domestic  sense  she  realized  long  ago, 
but  never  did  she  dare  to  try  to  influence 
events  which  took  place  beyond  her  cottage 
door. 

But  the  Press  and  the  spread  of  education 
are  coaxing  her  out  of  her  passive,  voteless 
path.  She  is  peeping  out  from  behind  the 
purdah,  and  she  is  distinctly  interested  in 
what  she  sees.  In  China  there  has  never 
been  a  purdah,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the 
word,  and  yet  the  Chinese  woman  has  hitherto 
lived  very  much  behind  the  purdah.  She  is 
now  peeping  out,  just  as  her  sisters  in  India 
and  Japan  are  also  peeping  out. 

It  is  the  sight  of  those  timid,  delicate, 
girlish  faces  which  tells  us  that  Asia  is  changing 
fast.  Ideas  are  beginning  to  circulate,  and 
woman  must  henceforth  be  hedged  about  by 
free  intercourse  with  man  and  by  knowledge 
— not  by  ignorance  and  curtained  courts. 
America  has  shown  the  world  that  the  segre- 
gation of  woman  in  ignorance  behind  a  curtain 

206 


CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

is  the  worst  protection  she  can  have,  and 
though  Asia  has  not  yet  subscribed  to  that 
view,  the  harem  veil  is  being  gently  rent  in 
twain  by  the  ladies  who  have  lived  so  long 
behind  it. 

It  was  probably  the  absence  of  women 
which  led  to  the  outcry  against  supposed  vice 
in  Chinese  compounds  on  the  Rand.  The 
matter  of  course  was  grossly  exaggerated,  as 
is  nearly  always  the  case  when  events  take 
place  in  one  quarter  of  the  globe,  whilst 
criticism  upon  them  takes  place  in  another. 

There  may  have  been  traces  of  the  vice 
complained  of,  but  proved  cases  were  re- 
markably few  and  far  between.  If  60,000 
males  were  chosen  from  the  lowest  class  of 
any  country  in  the  world,  and  were  shut  up 
without  their  women  inside  a  compound  for 
three  whole  years,  what  would  the  result 
be  ?  We  may  be  sure  it  would  make  a  very 
much  worse  showing  than  the  Chinese  experi- 
ment made.  Cases  of  vice  there  certainly 
were  on  the  Rand  at  long  and  rare  intervals, 
but  they  were  so  few  as  to  be  of  no  real  im- 
portance whatever. 

The  Chinese  seem  always  a  little  peculiar 
in  regard  to  their  passions.  During  the  dark 
days  of  the  Boxer  outbreak  and  of  subsequent 
revolutions,  when  hundreds  of  missionary 
women  were  in  their  power  scattered  about 
the  country,  they  never  once  ravisiied  a  white 

207 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

woman.  At  the  same  time,  they  seem  to 
experience  no  difficulty  in  conquering  a 
woman's  resistance  to  their  charms.  This  is 
not  only  true  where  the  white  woman  is 
concerned,  it  is  true  in  Burma,  and  the  Lao 
States,  and  in  Siam.  The  Chinese  merchants 
in  Burma  are  always  the  husbands  of  the 
prettiest  Burmese  beauties,  and  Burmese  girls 
would  rather  be  married  to  a  Chinaman  than 
to  one  of  their  own  race. 

In  South  Africa  one  or  two  other  little 
peculiarities  came  out  in  the  course  of  John 
Chinaman's  stay  upon  the  Reef.  The  Chinese 
had  a  distinct  craving  for  the  insanitary 
practice  of  exhuming  their  dead  comrades 
with  a  view  to  sending  their  ashes  back  to 
relatives  in  China.  They  usually  waited  until 
the  corpse  had  been  buried  a  year  or  two 
before  they  filed  their  exhuming  petition, 
and  then  the  Chinese  inspector  was  expected 
to  obtain  permission  from  the  local  authorities 
to  dig  the  dead  man  up.  It  was  as  well  always 
to  stand  a  few  hundred  yards  to  windward, 
but  the  operation  could  be  supervised  from 
that  distance  just  as  well. 

The  Chinese  prepared  a  big  pile  of  sticks, 
all  well  soaked  with  paraffin  oil.  They  dug 
up  the  coffin  and  laid  a  long  stretch  of  gal- 
vanized iron  upon  the  sticks  and  wood.  Then 
with  a  few  sharp  strokes  of  the  hammer  they 
knocked  off  the  coffin-lid,  upset  the  ghastly 

208 


CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

contents  of  the  coffin  upon  the  galvanized 
iron,  and  set  fire  to  the  sticks  and  wood  with- 
out any  great  delay. 

The  whole  operation  was  all  over  in  a  very 
few  minutes,  but  those  few  minutes  were  not 
altogether  pleasant  ones.  In  truth,  they  were 
rather  unpleasant.  After  the  corpse  had  been 
quite  burned,  the  ashes  were  carefully  collected 
and  sent  to  relatives  away  in  some  distant 
Chinese  town,  where,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  their 
receipt  gave  more  satisfaction  than  their 
manufacture  had  done  in  Johannesburg. 

It  was  necessary,  of  course,  to  compound  the 
coolies  inside  high  walls  surrounding  their 
quarters  and  kitchens  and  bath-houses.  They 
went  to  work  in  two  shifts — a  night  shift 
and  a  day  shift.  On  leaving  the  com- 
pound, they  were  expected  to  go  down  to 
work.  If  they  were  absent,  their  gangers 
reported  their  absence.  On  completing  their 
day's  work,  they  returned  to  the  compound, 
where  the  gate-keeper  kept  a  check  upon  every 
man  who  passed  him.  In  spite  of  these 
arrangements,  there  were  always  a  few  de- 
serters at  large  in  the  open  country,  and 
the  reason  was  usually  gambling. 

Now  every  Chinese  is  a  born  trader  as  well 
as  being  a  born  gambler.  When  he  lends 
money,  he  wants  high  interest.  When  he 
gambles,  he  sooner  or  later  wants  money. 
But  the  gambling  coolie  in  South  Africa  could 
P  209 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

only  obtain  financial  accommodation  of  this 
sort  from  a  "  police-boy  "  or  from  a  "  boss- 
boy,"  who  were  in  some  sort  of  authority 
over  other  labourers.  These  boss-boys  and 
police-boys  were  indispensable,  but  they  were 
much  inclined  to  take  advantage  of  their 
position.  Of  course,  they  levied  toll  upon 
every  labourer,  or  that  labourer's  life  would 
hardly  have  been  worth  living.  They  had 
means  of  making  their  power  felt  which  no 
white  man  could  follow,  and  they  conse- 
quently became  rich.  When  labourers  came 
to  borrow  money  for  gambling  debts,  they  lent 
it,  to  be  sure,  but  they  lent  it  at  12%  per 
month  interest.  The  average  coolie's  pay 
ranged  between  one  and  two  shillings  a  day, 
according  to  the  amount  of  work  he  did.  He 
got  his  food  and  lodging  free,  it  is  true,  but 
no  man  can  afl'ord  to  pay  interest  on  borrowed 
money  at  the  rate  of  144%  per  annum.  The 
coolie  was  then  forced  to  gamble  again  in 
order  to  try  to  regain  his  independence. 
If  he  lost,  his  position  became  more  hopeless 
than  ever.  If  he  refused  to  pay  his  monthly 
debt  to  the  police-boy,  he  would  be  worried, 
and  falsely  charged  with  crimes,  and  secretly 
beaten.  If  he  worked  at  the  top  pitch  of  his 
strength,  rock- drilling  for  three  whole  years, 
he  would  still  be  in  debt  when  his  indenture 
came  to  an  end.  Not  unnaturally  he  summed 
up   all  these   considerations   very   quickly   in 

210 


CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

his  mind,  and  saw  that  his  only  chance  of 
salvation  lay  in  desertion,  so  he  deserted  and 
deserted  again. 

In  spite  of  the  ordinance  regulations  against 
Chinese  gambling,  gambling  remained  the 
crime  of  the  Reef.  Most  of  the  murders  that 
were  committed  by  yellow  men  could  have 
been  traced  to  this  cause.  In  any  new  scheme 
for  organizing  Chinese  labour  which  may  now 
be  under  consideration,  this  gambling  evil 
must  be  faced  in  all  its  bearings.  To  that 
portion  of  the  British  public  which  knows  little 
of  Chinese  affairs  it  may  be  interesting  to 
follow  the  passage  taken  by  the  coolie  from 
his  village  in  China  to  the  compounds  of  the 
Rand. 

The  first  thing,  of  course,  must  be  the  organi- 
zation of  some  recruiting  system  contracted 
for  by  one  or  more  firms  in  China.  In  1904 
a  Labour  Importation  Agency  was  formed 
by  the  Rand  mines,  and  the  Chinese  Engineer- 
ing and  Mining  Company  shared  with  Messrs. 
Forbes  and  Company  the  responsibilities  of 
supplying  the  labourers.  Land  was  rented  at 
the  port  chosen  for  embarking  the  coolies, 
and  the  coolie  camp  was  run  up  at  Chinwang- 
tao.  After  that  it  simply  became  a  matter  of 
supplying  the  coolies,  but  the  matter  was  not 
so  simple  as  it  may  seem  at  the  first  sight. 
Many  considerations  had  to  play  their  part. 
There  was  the  Chinese  Government  to  begin 

211 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

with.  At  that  time  the  Manchu  Empress 
Dowager  was  on  the  throne.  A  big  poll-tax 
had  therefore  to  be  paid  for  every  Chinaman 
shipped  abroad.  Big  bribes  to  Chinese  officials 
had  to  be  taken  into  account  too. 

There  were  also  doctors  to  be  considered. 
The  Chamber  of  Mines  at  Johannesburg  natur- 
ally wanted  strong,  robust  coolies,  and  the 
doctors  received  strict  orders  that  only  fit 
men  were  to  pass  the  medical  examination. 
But,  of  course,  every  man  discarded  by  the 
doctors  sent  up  the  cost  of  recruiting,  because 
the  Chinese  contractors  found  they  had  to 
bring  down  thirty  or  forty  men  from  up 
country  in  order  to  get  ten  men  passed  fit. 
These  contractors  were  paid  a  certain  sum  for 
every  man  who  passed  the  medical  examina- 
tion, but  not  for  the  others.  Special  rates 
had,  therefore,  to  be  arranged  with  the  railway 
for  returning  the  discarded  men  to  their 
homes.  With  this  question  of  cost  the  size 
of  the  ships  used  for  transporting  the  coolies 
also  became  important.  Obviously  small  ships 
were  impossible,  because  oceans  had  to  be 
crossed,  and  a  big  ship  could  only  make  about 
three  journeys  out  and  back  in  the  course  of 
a  year. 

In  organizing  any  other  system  of  indentured 
labour  this  point  must  be  carefully  borne  in 
mind.  It  shows,  moreover,  that  the  machinery 
necessary  to  supply  five   hundred  coolies  to 

212 


CHINESE   LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

Africa  would  be  just  as  expensive  as  the 
machinery  necessary  to  supply  nine  thousand. 
Particular  mention  is  made  of  that  figure, 
because  a  ship  of  about  5,000  tons,  when 
properly  fitted  up,  should  be  able  to  take 
3,000  coolies  each  trip. 

Meantime  our  friend  the  coolie  has  not  yet 
reached  the  ship.  We  have  only  seen  him 
coming  down  to  Chinwangtao  with  a  batch 
of  fellow  yokels  under  the  Chinese  recruiting 
contractor.  Upon  arrival  all  he  needs  is  a 
meal,  and  then  he  is  ready  for  the  doctor. 
If  he  passes,  he  is  kept  at  the  depot  until 
the  arrival  of  his  ship.  He  is  fed.  He  gets 
a  blanket  and  a  suit  of  clothes  given  to  him. 
In  addition  to  these  things  he  receives  a 
registration  number  on  a  metal-ticket,  together 
with  a  copy  of  his  contract  of  service. 

After  an  interval  of  perhaps  a  fortnight,  he 
sails,  and  the  land  of  his  fathers  knows  him 
no  more  for  a  space  of  three  years.  But  this 
apparently  easy  evacuation  from  the  village 
into  the  ship  demands  a  great  deal  of  organizing 
at  the  recruiting  agency.  Finger-prints  have 
to  be  classified  ;  clerks  have  to  be  employed  ; 
white  men  have  to  be  found  to  manage  the 
coolies  both  at  the  depot  and  on  board  ship  ; 
and  a  hundred  and  one  details  have  to  be 
attended  to  which  it  would  be  impossible  to 
mention  here. 

Each  steamer  carried  two  doctors,  who  were 
213 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

responsible  for  the  health  of  the  coolies 
during  the  voyage  ;  they  were  paid  by  the 
Transvaal  Chamber  of  Mines  Labour  Importa- 
tion Agency,  and  received  salaries  of  £50  and 
£40  per  month.  An  overseer  who  spoke 
Chinese  was  also  carried  on  each  vessel ;  he 
was  held  responsible  for  the  good  behaviour 
of  the  coolies,  and  had  to  look  after  them  in  a 
general  way.  Very  often  on  arrival  of  the 
ship  at  Durban  he  went  up  with  the  coolies 
to  their  respective  mines,  and  was  employed 
by  the  mine  in  question  as  a  Chinese  controller  ; 
otherwise  he  went  back  with  the  ship  and 
brought  out  a  fresh  lot  of  coolies.  His  salary 
was  £40  per  month,  and  this  was  paid  by  the 
same  agency. 

The  South  African  coolies  were  imported 
under  an  ordinance  which  had  been  drawn  up 
by  the  Transvaal  Government.  In  its  pre- 
amble were  set  forth  the  reasons  why  yellow 
labour  was  considered  necessary  for  the  mining 
industry,  and  after  this  were  certain  regula- 
tions for  directing  the  general  good  behaviour 
of  these  strange  yellow  men.  Penalties  for 
the  infringement  of  these  regulations  were 
also  attached.  This  ordinance  was  necessary, 
because  what  might  be  no  crime  for  an  or- 
dinary free  citizen  might  be  a  very  serious 
crime  where  an  indentured  labourer  was  con- 
cerned. Refusal  to  work,  for  example,  though 
no  crime   in  the  ordinary  civil  code,   was  a 

214 


CHINESE   LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

serious  matter  from  an  employer's  point  of 
view.  Thus  the  coolies  were  amenable  to 
the  ordinance  as  well  as  to  ordinary  civil  law. 
At  first  all  charges  against  coolies  were 
heard  in  the  courts  of  resident  magistrates, 
but  soon  it  became  evident  that  the  dispensa- 
tion of  justice  would  become  paralyzed  if 
every  little  labour  crime  were  taken  into 
Johannesburg.  Furthermore,  the  employer 
would  not  benefit  by  the  time  his  coolies 
wasted  in  going  to  court,  awaiting  trial,  going 
to  prison,  and  returning  to  the  mine.  Em- 
ployers therefore  tried  to  avoid  these 
inconveniences  by  beating  coolies  in  their 
compounds.  This,  of  course,  raised  an  outcry 
from  the  British  public  rather  than  from  the 
coolies  themselves.  But  it  ended  in  the 
Chinese  inspectors  being  granted  magisterial 
powers  to  hold  a  court  every  day  in  their 
various  mining  districts. 

Gambling  and  opium  were  the  two  great 
sins.  They  both  had  much  the  same  effect 
in  unequally  distributing  wealth.  The  opium- 
dealer  became  too  rich  at  the  expense  of  his 
fellows,  in  just  the  same  way  that  the  usurious 
police-boy  made  money  out  of  the  gambling 
coolies.  Both  crimes  also  affected  labour 
efficiency,  the  one  by  causing  physical  lassi- 
tude, the  other  by  causing  desertions. 

The  coolies  were  not  allowed  to  be  employed 
on  any  skilled  labour.      They  mostly  worked 

215 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

below  ground  at  rock- drilling,  shovelling,  and 
tramming.  They  were  paid  according  to  the 
amount  of  work  they  did,  but  they  had  to  be 
given  a  minimum  wage  of  one  shilling  a  day. 
A  good  hammer-boy  could  earn  as  much  as 
two  shillings  or  half  a  crown. 

Boss-boys  and  police-boys  were  paid  a 
rather  higher  wage.  But  they  were  the  aristo- 
crats. They  were  corrupt  tyrants,  but  they 
were  useful.  No,  they  were  more  than  useful 
from  a  white  man's  point  of  view  :  they  were 
indispensable.  Good  food,  lodging,  light, 
baths,  were  all  supplied  free  to  the  labourer. 
Occasionally  he  would  be  given  a  pass  to  go 
and  visit  his  friends  on  another  mine,  and  if 
he  became  ill  he  received  excellent  medical 
attention.  In  short,  he  was  provided  with 
everything  which  would  make  him  a  physically 
sound  animal,  or  rather  machine  ;  for,  eco- 
nomically speaking,  that  was  all  he  was. 

It  was  mentioned  before  that  each  coolie 
on  joining  at  the  depot  in  China  was  given 
a  metal  ticket  with  the  labourer's  number 
stamped  upon  it.  Theoretically,  these  tickets 
were  never  supposed  to  change  hands,  and 
there  was  a  punishment  laid  down  for  in- 
fringing the  rule.  But  in  practice  a  good  deal 
of  ticket- changing  went  on.  The  deception 
could  easily  be  discovered  when  a  man  de- 
serted from  his  mine,  because  then  he  was 
bound  to  be  arrested  before  long.     He  could 

216 


CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

not  very  easily  hide  on  another  mining  pro- 
perty, and  if  he  took  to  the  open  country 
hunger  would  soon  bring  him  within  reach  of 
the  police.  As  soon  as  he  was  arrested,  his 
finger-prints  were  examined,  and  then,  of 
course,  his  real  identity  could  be  traced 
within  two  minutes.  When  considering  the 
details  of  any  new  scheme  for  shipping 
Chinese  coolies  across  the  sea,  a  finger-print 
bureau  both  in  China  and  at  their  destination 
is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance. 

It  would,  however,  be  wise  to  discourage 
any  idea  of  "  allotments,"  whereby  coolies 
remit  some  portion  of  their  earnings  to  their 
relations  at  home.  Doubtless  the  Chinese 
Government  might  like  to  see  it  done,  because 
it  involves  little  trouble  to  China,  and  it 
ensures  an  increased  income  to  many  peasant 
houses.  To  the  men  who  operate  it  from 
overseas,  however,  it  is  an  endless  source  of 
trouble  and  dispute. 

We  will  conclude  with  a  rough  outline  of  the 
cost  of  sending  Chinese  to  a  country  like 
Africa  far  afield.  It  can  only  be  a  rough 
outline,  because  no  particular  port  of  debarka- 
tion is  in  our  mind's  eye,  but  we  will  suppose 
the  labour  is  wanted  somewhere  in  Central 
South  Africa.  The  port  of  debarkation  might 
be  Beira,  or  Delagoa  Bay,  or  Durban. 

In  any  case,  a  big  ocean-going  steamer  will 
be  required  to  take  9,000  coolies  per  annum. 

217 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

For  the  first  three  years  these  ships  will  go 
down  loaded  with  coolies,  but  they  will  come 
back  empty,  or  nearly  so,  because  their  special 
fittings  as  coolie  ships  will  prevent  them 
accepting  much  in  the  way  of  cargo.  If  a 
big  trading-house  were  contracting  for  the 
labour  supply,  a  sufficiency  of  return  cargo 
might  be  obtained  to  pay  the  ship's  way. 
Otherwise  a  government  would  probably  lose 
sight  of  this  important  question.  It  is  a 
curious  weakness  of  governments  never 
to  approach  a  question  on  purely  business 
lines. 

From  the  following  rough  estimate  of  the 
cost  of  recruiting  9,000  coolies  for  South 
Africa,  the  vastness  of  a  Labour  Importation 
System  will  be  evident.  Of  course,  the  figures 
are  only  approximate,  because  if  two  or  more 
firms  were  engaged  in  supplying  labourers 
the  cost  of  recruiting  would  go  up.  Further- 
more, great  strictness  in  the  medical  examina- 
tion would  raise  the  cost  an  enormous  extent. 
But  for  the  purposes  of  this  rough  estimate 
we  will  suppose  one  firm  only  is  supplying 
the  coolies,  and  that  the  doctors  are  not  unduly 
severe. 

Item  1.  To  secure  9,000  coolies  passed 
fit,  at  least  27,000  would 
have  to  be  recruited.     Say  $ 

they  cost  $2  per^head        .      54,000 
218 


CHINESE   LABOUR   OVERSEAS 

Item  2.  Feeding  27,000  coolies  for 
14  days  at  the  labour 
depot  before  the  ship 
leaves  @  30  cents    .  .     113,400 

Item  3.  Feeding     18,000     discarded 

coolies  for  2  days     .  .      10,800 

Item  4.  Feeding  9,000  coolies  on 
board  ship  @  30  cents  for 
30  days.  .  .  .       81,000 

Item  5.  Chartering  a  steamer  @ 
$15,000  per  month  for 
12  months       .  .  .     180,000 

Item  6.  Tonnage  dues     .  .  .         1,800 

Item  7.  Outfit  for  9,000  coolies  @ 
$10  (part  to  be  recovered 
from  their  pay  afterwards)      90,000 

Item  8.  Chinese  Government  poll-tax 
@  $5  per  head  on  9,000 
coolies    ....       45,000 

576,000 

Item  9.  Margin  of  deaths  on  voyage 

1  %  on  above  expenses       .       5,760 

Total  to  date         .  .  581,760 


Now  we  come  to  a  host  of  other  items  which 
almost  entirely  depend  upon  the  port  chosen 
for  embarkation.  This  port  might  be  Chin- 
wangtao,  or  Chefoo,  or  Tsingtau,  or  some 
other  port  on  the  North  China  littoral.  These 
items  include  railing  back  discarded  men, 
doctors'   fees,   pier  dues,   rent  of  land,   sheds 

219 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

occupied  by  the  coolies,  rent  of  office  and 
houses  for  white  overseers,  telegrams,  sta- 
tionery, printing,  metal-tickets,  stamps  and 
blankets.  For  all  these  things  we  will  esti- 
mate. 


Item  10.  A  round  figure,  say   . 
Item  11.  Wages  and  salaries  at  the 
labour  depot : 

£ 
Manager        .    @  800  p.a. 
Assistant       .   @  400  „ 
Finger-printer  @  400  „ 
Chinese  staff     @  400  „ 


80,000 


£2,000  „  or  20,000 


Item  12. 

Up-country  wages  £600  p.a. 

6,000 

Item  13. 

Cost  of  coal,  oil,  sanitation, 
police,  etc.,  at  the  depot 
@    '50    (fifty    cents)    on 

9,000  coolies 

4,500 

Item  14. 

Doctors'    fees   up    country 

@  *50  per  man  shipped    . 

4,500 

Item  15. 

Fitting-up  ship 

6,000 

Item  16. 

Medical  stores®  '50  per  man 

4,500 

Item  17. 

Ships'  wages  : 

Doctor           .          .     p.a. 

6,000 

Assistant       .          .       „ 

3,000 

Overseer        .          .        ,, 

4,800 

Assistant       .          .       „ 

3,000 

Cooks   .         .          .       „ 

800 

220 

CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

Item  18.  Coal  @  $6  per  ton  for  9,600 
tons.  Supposing  the  ship 
burns  40  tons  a  day  and 
is  steaming  for  240  days 
in  the  year    .  .  .       57,600 

200,700 

Carried  forward  .  .    200,700 

Carried  forward  items  1  to  9    581,760 

782,460 
Unforeseen      contingencies 

10%     ....       78,246 

Total      .  .  .    860,706 


Now  if  we  assume  $10  to  equal  £l  it  be- 
comes evident  that  the  first  9,000  coolies 
would  cost  about  £9-10,  or  say  £10,  to  land 
in  South  Africa.  This,  of  course,  represents 
bare  cost.  It  allows  the  contractors  no  profit, 
and  in  view  of  the  risks  they  run  a  sub- 
stantial profit  would  have  to  be  charged. 
Probably  the  importer  would  have  to  pay 
£15  or  £16  per  head  for  every  man  landed. 

But,  then,  his  expenses  would  not  be  ended, 
because  he  would  have  to  institute  all  the 
depot  machinery  once  more  almost  precisely 
on  the  same  lines  as  his  recruiting  depot  in 
China.  He  would  require  a  manager,  an 
assistant-manager,  a  Chinese  staff,  and  so  on. 
He  would,  moreover,  have  to  pay  railage  to 

221 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

the  mines  if  a  railway  went  so  far.  If  it 
did  not,  the  coolies  might  have  to  trek  from 
rail-head  to  their  destination,  and  that  would 
mean  a  chain  of  roadside  coolie  camps.  White 
men,  of  course,  would  be  required  to  escort 
the  labour  gangs.  These  white  men  would 
require  pay.  Stores  would  have  to  be  carried 
up  country,  and  porterage  up  country  in  Africa 
becomes  rather  expensive. 

If  the  Belgians  really  do  employ  Chinese 
labour  in  the  Katanga  province  of  the  Congo, 
it  will  be  one  of  the  most  interesting  experi- 
ments of  modern  times.  They  must,  how- 
ever, compound  their  coolies,  and  these  coolies 
should  be  indentured,  otherwise  the  coolies 
will  be  wandering  all  over  the  country,  and 
no  work  will  be  done.  The  proposed  line 
from  Kambove,  where  the  copper-mines  are, 
through  Elizabethville,  would  link  up  with 
the  Rhodesian  railway  system.  The  British 
Government  should  have  no  objection  to 
indentured  coolies  passing  over  these  Rho- 
desian railways.  It  is  fairly  obvious  that  the 
railway  company  would  have  no  objection, 
because  its  traffic  receipts  would  receive  a 
great  stimulus. 

From  the  Chinese  Government's  point  of 
view,  the  monetary  contribution  to  the  Treasury 
and  to  official  pockets  would  outweigh  any 
considerations  of  exterritorial  rights  or  privi- 
leges for  Chinese  labourers  similar  to  those 

222 


CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEAS 

enjoyed  by  foreigners  in  China.  Most  pro- 
bably China  would  raise  these  points  merely 
as  bargaining  levers  to  secure  a  good  round 
sum  of  money,  but  they  would  never  be 
insisted  upon  when  it  came  to  a  question  of 
consent  for  hard  cash. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  supposed  attitude 
of  the  Chinese  Government  is  said  to  be  one 
of  the  chief  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  Belgian 
Bourse  de  Travail  at  the  present  moment. 
On  this  account  the  men  in  Brussels  who 
would  be  chiefly  interested  in  another  Chinese 
labour  experiment  have  been  unable  to  make 
up  their  minds.  Liu,  the  official  who  re- 
presented the  Chinese  Government  on  the 
Rand  between  1905  and  1908,  and  who  after- 
wards became  Chinese  Minister  in  London, 
suffers  from  exaggerated  ideas  of  China's 
importance.  He  is  reported  to  have  declared 
that  Chinese  coolies  could  not  be  allowed  to 
be  indentured  overseas  on  the  same  lines  as 
they  were  before,  and  that  if  their  services  are 
required  they  must  go  next  time  as  free  men. 

There  are  plenty  of  precedents  for  Asiatics 
going  across  the  sea  as  free  men  and  signing 
their  contracts  when  they  reach  their  destina- 
tion, but  if  the  Belgians  mean  to  employ 
yellow  men  in  the  Katanga  District  of  the 
Congo  there  are  likely  to  be  obstacles. 

Madrassi  and  Bengali  coolies  cross  the  sea 
as  free   labourers   to   work   on   the   sugar   or 

223 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

rubber  estates  of  Ceylon  or  the  Malay  States. 
Upon  arrival  they  sign  their  contracts  and 
work  for  the  time  specified.  But  their  em- 
ployers do  not  pay  for  their  passages  to  and 
from  the  scene  of  their  labours.  They  simply 
come  and  go  in  obedience  to  the  ordinary 
labour-flow,  as  ruling  rates  of  pay  make  it 
worth  their  while  to  do  so.  If  Chinese  la- 
bourers were  to  be  shipped  away  from  Chin- 
wangtao  to  Beira  as  free  men  to  sign  or  not 
sign  their  contracts,  the  risk  of  great  financial 
loss  would  be  thrown  at  once  upon  the  im- 
porters' shoulders. 

This  difficulty,  of  course,  might  be  over- 
come by  making  the  Chinese  Government 
guarantee  the  cost  of  recruiting  and  transport- 
ing every  coolie  who  refused  to  sign  after 
getting  the  benefit  of  an  ocean  voyage.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Chinese  Government 
might  not  wish  to  make  this  guarantee.  In 
that  case  it  might  be  possible  for  the  labour 
recruiting  office  in  China  only  to  accept 
coolies  who  could  produce  a  shop  guarantee 
saying  that,  if  the  coolie  did  not  sign  his 
contract  at  the  end  of  the  voyage,  the  guaran- 
tors would  reimburse  the  importers. 

This  would  have  very  nearly  the  same  effect 
as  signing  the  contract  straight  away  in  China, 
as  was  done  before,  but  it  would  have  this 
subtle  advantage,  which  must  not  be  lost  sight 
of:     it   would   save    John   Chinaman's    face. 

224 


CHINESE  LABOUR  OVERSEA 

Little  delicacies  of  this  sort  appear  very 
trifling  to  us  men  of  western  lands  who  aim 
always  for  the  thing  which  matters.  We 
do,  at  times,  try  to  save  our  faces,  no  doubt, 
but  face-saving  is  only  an  incidental  dis- 
traction—it is  never  our  life-absorbing  passion. 
In  China  it  is  the  thing  which  matters,  and 
everything  else  is  merely  an  incidental  dis- 
traction. 

There  must  be  a  great  deal  of  the  child's 
mind  in  the  Chinese  man.  The  child  pretends 
this,  that,  and  the  other  little  piece  of  pre- 
tence, because  it  cannot  help  pretending,  and 
because  it  finds  pleasure  in  so  doing.  In 
exactly  the  same  way  the  Chinese  man  pre- 
tends in  every  conceivable  direction.  He 
pretends,  when  a  foreigner  has  obtained 
control  of  a  coal  mine,  that  the  mine  still 
belongs  to  him.  He  pretends  that  he  is 
entitled  to  precisely  the  same  privileges  as 
Westerners  who  have  fought  and  struggled 
and  paid  heavily  for  the  rights  they  now  enjoy. 
He  pretends  that  because  his  Parliamentary 
delegates  wear  badly-fitting  trousers  and  frock- 
coats  that  they  are  as  well  qualified  to  rule 
broad  territories  as  any  legislative  assembly 
in  the  world.  John  Chinaman  is  a  pretender 
from  his  cradle  to  his  grave,  because  his  sense 
of  pretence  is  abnormally  developed. 

To  return  to  our  coolies.     It  would  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  the  coolies  to  sign  their 
^  225 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

labour  contracts  at  Beira  or  other  port  of 
debarkation,  because  the  Rhodesian  Govern- 
ment would  never  allow  numbers  of  free 
Chinese  to  go  roaming  over  their  country 
through  having  slipped  out  of  the  train  at 
some  way- side  station.  A  guarantee  of  some 
sort  would,  therefore,  be  required  from  the 
Belgian  Government  to  obviate  the  possi- 
bility of  this. 

But  supposing  these  difficulties  were  sur- 
mounted, would  the  Chinese  Government 
object  to  the  labourers  being  compounded 
when  they  reached  the  Katanga  Copper  Mines  ? 
If  they  do  so,  their  objection  could,  of  course, 
be  undermined  by  money,  but  their  consenting 
price  might  be  so  high  as  to  be  prohibitive 
from  a  commercial  point  of  view. 

At  the  same  time,  if  the  Chinese  labourers 
are  not  to  be  compounded  in  some  way  or 
other,  no  work  will  be  possible.  Probably 
they  need  not  be  compounded  by  high  walls. 
They  might  have  barbed-wire  fences  run  round 
their  lines,  and  the  local  magistrates  might 
issue  prohibitions  against  those  boundaries 
being  crossed,  but  compounding  of  some  sort 
is  not  only  advisable,  but  an  absolute  necessity 
where  John  Chinaman  is  concerned. 


226 


CHAPTER   XI 

CHINESE    LABOUR    IN    CHINA 

There  is  one  fundamental  factor  which  differ- 
entiates the  labourer  in  China  from  the  Chinese 
labourer  indentured  abroad  for  mining  or 
other  work.  This  one  factor  is  human  nature. 
In  China  practically  all  labour  with  which 
the  foreigner  is  concerned  is  done  through 
a  contractor.  The  contractor  gets  paid  ac- 
cording to  the  work  done,  and  he  it  is  who 
suffers  if  a  labourer  fails  to  accomplish  his 
proper  share  of  work.  In  China  a  labourer 
cannot  display  much  laziness,  unless  he  cares 
to  face  the  prospect  of  quickly  having  his 
services  dispensed  with.  The  labourer  inden- 
tured overseas  is,  however,  in  quite  another 
position.  If  he  be  lazy,  his  importer  suffers, 
not  himself.  True,  he  may  get  punished  by 
imprisonment,  but  what  punishment  is  im- 
prisonment to  a  Chinaman  whose  only  anxiety 
in  life  has  ever  been  to  get  enough  daily  food 
to  live  upon  ? 

In  this  chapter  we  will  consider  the  labourer 
in  China,  since  we  have  already  looked  at  his 

227 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

oversea  features.  In  one  respect  China  is 
industrially  very  backward  :  women  do  not 
play  their  part  to  the  same  extent  as  they  do 
elsewhere.  In  agriculture  they  do  a  great 
deal  of  work,  but,  apart  from  that,  they  are 
distinctly  backward  both  educationally  and 
in  their  sphere  of  operations. 

A  very  marked  contrast  is  thus  raised  in 
favour  of  Japan,  where  women  play  a  bigger 
part  in  their  country's  industrial  development 
than  anywhere  else.  Over  60%  of  the  opera- 
tives in  Japan  are  women.  In  Europe  the 
percentage  is  from  30  to  40%,  according  to 
local  conditions.  But,  of  course,  Japan's  huge 
export  of  silk  has  a  very  great  bearing  upon 
this  point.  Very  naturally  the  silk  industry 
lends  itself  much  to  the  employment  of  women 
and  girls,  besides  which  their  handling  of  it 
is  probably  more  satisfactory.  It  is  not  solely 
in  silk-weaving,  however,  that  they  make 
their  influence  felt.  They  take  their  share 
in  agriculture,  and  even  help  to  bunker  ships 
which  stop  to  take  in  coal  at  Nagasaki  or 
other  coast  ports. 

In  China  not  only  education,  but  also 
tradition  has  militated  against  a  greater  pro- 
minence for  woman.  In  the  peasant's  cottage 
she  has  attended  to  her  household  duties. 
She  has  become  the  mother  of  innumerable 
children,  half  of  whom  usually  died  in  early 
childhood    of   small-pox    or    of   plague.     She 

228 


CHINESE   LABOUR  IN   CHINA 

has  worked  in  the  fields  during  the  spring  and 
autumn  seasons.  In  winter  she  has  gone 
forth  to  gather  in  straw,  wood,  or  roots  of 
kaohang  to  keep  the  cottage  warm  and  to 
cook  her  husband's  rice.  She  has  been  useful, 
no  doubt,  according  to  her  own  primitive 
lights,  but  her  sphere  of  activity  has  been 
limited. 

In  the  house  of  a  well-to-do  man  the  girls 
have  been  utterly  secluded.  You  never  see 
a  woman  in  China  selling  railway-tickets  as 
you  do  in  Japan.  You  never  find  a  young 
lady  typewriting  in  a  merchant's  office.  Even 
in  Southern  China,  where  Anglo-Hongkong 
ideas  have  long  contributed  towards  the  spread 
of  knowledge,  you  do  not  find  women  much  in 
evidence.  They  are  now  beginning  to  have 
their  minds  gently  opened  by  western  learning, 
and  burst  open  by  the  daily  press,  but  these 
early  beginnings  have  not  yet  had  time  to 
show  the  Chinese  woman's  industrial  potenti- 
ality, although  a  very  great  change  is  certain 
to  become  apparent  before  many  years  are 
over.  Those  bright  days  have  yet  to  come. 
When  they  do,  it  will  be  time  to  review  the 
new  conditions  which  a  female  factor  will 
introduce. 

From  the  foregoing  remarks  it  will  be 
apparent  that  we  only  have  to  deal  with 
the  Chinese  labouring  man — not  with  the 
Chinese  labouring  woman.     Now  the  cost  of 

229 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

labour  has  risen  very  considerably  in  China 
during  the  last  ten  years.  There  are  many 
causes  to  account  for  this — revolutions,  taxes, 
the  dawn  of  "  wants,"  and  so  on — but  we  must 
familiarize  ourselves  with  the  distinction  be- 
tween "  kung  "  ch'ien  and  "  fan  "  ch'ien  if 
we  would  properly  appreciate  labour  con- 
ditions as  they  now  stand  in  China. 

The  Chinese  contractor  makes  his  contract 
with  the  foreigner  to  get  a  certain  piece  of 
work  done.  It  may  be  to  mine  coal,  or  it 
may  be  to  build  a  rail  way- track.  It  matters 
not.  The  procedure  is  precisely  the  same  in 
either  case.  The  Chinese  contractor  deposits 
a  certain  sum  of  money  as  security,  and  he 
undertakes  to  perform  the  work  that  is  re- 
quired of  him.  He  finds  his  labourers,  and 
agrees  to  give  them  so  much  "  kung  "  ch'ien 
and  so  much  "  fan  "  ch'ien.  The  "  kung  " 
ch'ien  is  labour-money  ;  the  "  fan  "  ch'ien  is 
food-money.  He  will  probably  get  his  work- 
men from  neighbouring  villages,  but  if  they 
have  no  houses  or  huts  to  live  in  they  will 
look  to  him  to  supply  these  necessities  too. 
If  the  contractor  fails  to  perform  his  contract, 
either  according  to  time  or  the  specification 
given  to  him,  he  loses  a  part  or  whole  of  the 
money  security  he  has  already  deposited  at 
the  bank. 

At  Tongshan  a  portion  of  the  coolies  live  in 
their  own  houses  near  by  the  mines,  whilst 

230 


CHINESE   LABOUR   IN   CHINA 

others  live  in  houses  provided  by  the  con- 
tractor. For  every  tub  of  lump  coal  raised 
to  the  surface  the  contractor  gets  paid  $0*17 
(seventeen  Mexican  dollar  cents).  For  every 
tub  of  slack  he  gets  $0*09  (nine  Mexican 
dollar  cents).  On  his  part  he  pays  his  work- 
men six  Mexican  dollars  per  month,  or  more 
if  they  be  skilled.  Some  good  coal-cutters 
get  from  ten  to  fourteen  dollars  per  month. 
They  work  on  an  eight-hour  shift,  but  many 
of  them  will  gladly  work  a  double  shift  of 
fully  sixteen  hours  in  order  to  secure  double 
pay. 

This  is  the  result  of  the  Chinese  curious 
custom  of  making  one  member  of  a  family 
its  drudge.  Very  likely  the  labourer's  wife 
and  children,  his  mother,  his  father,  and  his 
sisters  are  all  living  more  or  less  upon  the 
proceeds  of  those  sixteen  hours  in  the  gloomy 
bowels  of  the  earth,  but  so  firmly  has  filial 
duty  set  its  seal  upon  his  life  that  he  cheer- 
fully goes  forth  unto  his  labour,  until  such 
time  as  his  bones  shall  fill  just  one  more  grave 
like  the  other  thousands  he  sees  from  his 
cottage  door. 

The  Chinese  peasant  lives  his  life  with 
death  in  the  shape  of  graveyards  staring  him 
in  the  face.  We  may  well  wonder  how  any 
man  can  enjoy  his  existence  under  such  morbid 
conditions,  even  if  the  smell  of  his  ancestors 
does  not  offend  his  nose  as  much  as  it  offends 

231 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

ours.  But  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  compare  a 
Chinese  village  to  a  straggling  raft  floating 
to  eternity  on  a  sea  of  graves.  As  you  turn 
to  the  right — graves  !  As  you  turn  to  the 
left,  there  are  graves  again  !  You  gaze  behind 
you — more  graves  !  And  look,  there  are  graves 
if  you  follow  the  line  of  your  nose. 

Before  a  mine  is  well  established  in  any 
locality  there  is  bound  to  be  a  shortage  of 
labour  during  seed-time  and  harvest,  for 
China  has  always  been  an  agricultural  land, 
whereas  mining  was  suspected  of  disturbing 
the  spirits  of  the  earth.  After  some  years  of 
working,  however,  the  neighbouring  villagers 
become  miners  in  contradistinction  to  farmers, 
and  the  labour-flow  remains  more  constant. 

This  question  of  the  spirits  being  disturbed 
has  been  the  cause  of  many  set-backs  to 
mining  development ;  but,  as  a  rule,  it  will  be 
found  that  a  Chinaman  is  quite  open  to  reason, 
if  reason  be  a  synonym  for  cash,  and  if  a 
grave's  removal  should  be  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  the  foreigner  to  unbutton  his 
pocket.  The  Chinaman's  good,  sound  business 
sense  weighs  the  gold  immediately  available 
against  his  great-grandfather's  possible  dis- 
pleasure some  thirty-five  years  hence,  and 
gold  in  the  hand  usually  outweighs  two 
displeasures   in   the  bush. 

Like  everything  else  in  China,  from  the 
purchase    of   a  secret  to  the  theft    of   your 

?33 


CHINESE   LABOUR   IN   CHINA 

neighbour's  cook,  a  grave's  removal  is  simply 
a  question  of  money.  John  Chinaman  is 
nothing  if  he  is  not  acquisitive ;  but  what 
manner  of  men  are  we  to  throw  stones  at 
him  on  that  account  ?  Wages  for  labour 
have  gone  up  steadily  all  over  the  country 
during  the  last  ten  years.  They  vary  as 
much  with  the  season  of  the  year  as  they 
vary  according  to  locality.  But  their  up- 
ward trend  is  none  the  less  marked.  A  few 
extracts  from  old  account-books  will  serve 
to  show  this  clearly. 

Here  is  an  interesting  relic  of  a  contractor's 
bill  for  work  done  in  the  year  1902  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Tientsin.  To  understand  it 
we  must  know  that  1  tiao  usually  equals  about 
16  Mexican  dollar  cents,  1  chang  is  a  length  of 
10  ft.,  and  that  1  fang  may  be  either  100  square 
ft.  or  100  cubic  ft.,  according  to  the  measure 
used.  We  do  not  know  whether  Chinese  feet 
or  English  feet  were  meant  in  this  case,  for  it 
is  usual  to  specify  that  the  foot  shall  be  counted 
either  as  10  in.  or  as  12  in.  in  length. 

(a)  Cost  of  labour  in  excavating  a  drain 
0*5  chang  in  width,  0*25  wide  at  bottom,  0-25 
chang  in  depth,  and  83  chang  in  length  @ 
9*37  fang  of  earth  per  chang.  Total,  77*8  fang 
@  O'lO  tiao  per  fang  =  7*78  tiao,  or  about 
one  and  a  quarter  Mexican  dollars  altogether. 
That  surely  must  be  considered  cheap. 

233 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

(b)  Cost  of  86  labourers  for  whitewashing 
wall  @  0'30  tiao  each — that  is  to  say,  some- 
thing under  5  Mexican  dollar  cents  each  per 
diem.  Of  course,  this  would  only  be  "  kung  " 
ch'ien  or  labour-money.  As  already  explained, 
the  contractor  would  have  found  food  for 
these  workmen. 

(c)  Cost  of  festival  presents  to  the  Ninghoh- 
sien  Magistrate  13*76  tiao,  or  about  2  Mexican 
dollars  and  twenty  cents. 

(d)  Cost  of  presents  for  the  officers  of  the 
police  force  4*80  tiao,  or  about  seventy-six 
Mexican  dollar  cents. 

{e)  Cost  of  46  labourers  @  0*40  tiao  each 
for  repairing  various  small  bridges — that 
is  to  say,  each  man  got  about  6*4  Mexican 
dollar  cents  per  diem  for  his  labour.  Nowa- 
days he  would  get  at  least  20  cents,  so  it 
will  be  easily  seen  what  a  marked  rise  has 
taken  place  in  Chinese  labour-market  prices 
since  then. 

At  the  same  time,  the  coolie's  cost  of  living 
has  risen  in  proportion  as  his  wages  have 
risen.  This  rise  is  particularly  noticeable  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  cities  where  foreigners 
congregate,  but  it  does  not  end  there.  Four- 
teen or  fifteen  years  ago  one  Mexican  dollar 
would  have  purchased  1,000  eggs  in  the 
Tientsin  market.  Now  they  cost  nearly  one 
cent  apiece.     Of  course,  food  is  still  relatively 

234 


CHINESE   LABOUR   IN   CHINA 

much  cheaper  in  China  than  it  is  in  Europe. 
In  what  European  city  could  you  purchase  a 
dozen  eggs  for  twopence  half-penny,  a  goose 
for  two  shillings,  and  a  fowl  for  ninepence  ? 

We  will  not  exhaustively  probe  into  the 
metaphysics  of  China's  cost  of  living,  but  we 
may  lightly  glance  at  one  or  two  points. 
John  Chinaman's  contact  with  men  of  the 
West  has  had  something  to  do  with  the  general 
rise.  Remember,  even  the  coolie  was  sent 
abroad  to  work  in  that  city  of  gold — Johannes- 
burg. Education,  revolution,  and  the  cigar- 
ette-selling companies  have  contributed  either 
towards  making  him  acquire  "  wants,"  or 
towards  creating  a  scarcity  of  food  in  dis- 
turbed districts. 

A  scarcity  of  food  means  a  rise  in  the  price 
of  food.  The  acquirement  of  "  wants  "  neces- 
sitates the  acquirement  of  riches  to  supply 
those  wants.  When  a  man  has  "  wants,"  as 
well  as  the  means  to  pay  for  them,  he  is 
taxable.  For  years  that  was  the  problem 
which  faced  the  Indian  Government.  The 
Indian  peasant,  until  he  took  to  drinking 
tea  and  using  furniture,  had  no  "  wants,"  so 
it  was  impossible  to  tax  him.  John  Chinaman 
has  begun  to  smoke  cigarettes,  if  he  is  dropping 
opium.  It  is  too  early  yet  to  see  whether  the 
opium  habit  is  being  entirely  suppressed. 
From  a  purely  labour  standpoint  let  us  hope 
it  is.     A   man  who  has  taken  to  the  opium 

235 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

habit  is  never  such  a  physically  fit  animal  as 
the  man  who  has  not.  And  from  an  em- 
ployer's point  of  view  the  physically  fit  animal 
is  the  labourer  required  for  the  economic  ideal. 

It  is  impossible  to  agree  with  Sir  George 
Birdwood  in  his  pro-opium  attitude.  Nobody 
will  deny  that  opium  can  be  a  most  stupendous 
blessing.  At  the  same  time,  any  resident  in 
China  must  frequently  have  seen  it  to  be  a 
most  stupendous  curse.  What  Sir  George 
loses  sight  of  is  the  status  of  the  Chinese 
coolie  as  a  man  or  an  animal.  It  is  exactly 
the  same  thing  to  him  as  drink  is  to  a  Euro- 
pean who  may  be  low  in  the  social  scale.  In 
moderation,  excellent,  both.  In  excess,  damn- 
able, both.  But  it  is  precisely  the  ill-educated, 
low-born  man  who  goes  to  excess  in  the  use 
of  such  things.  It  results  from  his  having 
few  pleasures,  and  from  his  coming  more 
and  more  under  the  power  of  something  which 
gives  him  pleasure.  Both  drink  and  opium 
may  be  good  servants,  but  they  are  equally 
hard  masters.  Education  drives  out  general 
drunkenness,  because  most  men  see  the  folly 
of  it  before  they  become  slaves  to  the  habit. 
It  would  have  been  the  same  in  China  with 
regard  to  opium,  but  it  would  have  taken 
many  and  many  a  year  to  raise  the  people  to 
a  necessary  height  of  view. 

In  a  word.  Sir  George  Birdwood  evidently 
imagines  China  to  be  peopled  by  500,000,000 

236 


CHINESE   LABOUR  IN  CHINA 

souls  exactly  like  himself.  In  that  case,  of 
course,  there  would  be  no  need  to  abolish  the 
use  of  opium,  because  it  would  always  be 
used  beneficially  ;  it  would  never  be  used  to 
excess.  But  as  China  is  not  peopled  by 
500,000,000  Birdwoods,  perhaps  we  may  be 
allowed  to  disagree  with  every  word  he  utters 
upon  the  Chinese  opium  question.  Opium 
certainly  undermined  the  efficiency  of  20% 
of  the  labourers  the  present  writer  had  under 
his  charge  on  the  Witwatersrand  Gold-fields. 

There  is  always  a  remarkable  cohesion 
between  Chinese  labourers,  whether  they  be 
working  in  or  out  of  China.  Even  the  rick- 
shaw coolies  who  drag  you  to  the  club  in  a 
foreign  settlement  have  arranged  amongst 
themselves  the  localities  in  which  each  one 
shall  work.  When  you  see  a  house  going  up, 
or  a  steamer  being  unloaded,  you  know  that  a 
guild  or  society  binds  every  Chinaman  em- 
ployed there. 

This  trait  accounts,  in  some  measure,  for 
the  ease  with  which  the  Chinese  nation  can 
organize  a  boycott.  It  also  enables  them 
more  or  less  to  hold  their  own  when  foreigners 
appear  to  be  shaping  things  all  their  own  way. 
On  the  Tientsin  Bund  there  are  many  such 
rings.  The  coolies,  for  instance,  who  do  all 
the  loading  at  the  French  Bund  would  never 
think  of  coming  along  to  the  British  Bund  to 
undercut   their   neighbours.     If    they  did  so, 

237 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

there  would  be  a  fight  at  once.  At  the  same 
time,  strikes  such  as  we  understand  them  in 
England  never  occur.  Who  ever  heard  of 
pressure  being  put  upon  an  employer  in  China 
to  take  only  Union  men  ?  There  is  never  any 
picketing.  Harvest  or  seed-time  may  inter- 
fere with  a  budding  industry  such  as  a  mine 
which  is  started  in  an  agricultural  district, 
but  once  a  man  really  takes  to  mining  he 
remains  a  miner.  In  the  same  way,  a  Chinese 
mason  remains  a  mason,  a  carpenter  remains 
a  carpenter. 

A  flow  of  labour  in  any  part  of  the  world 
takes  time  to  flow  regularly,  but  in  China  it 
takes  relatively  longer  to  create  owing  to  the 
above-mentioned  causes.  It  does  not  actually 
take  longer  to  create,  because  China  is  the 
only  country  in  the  world  where  a  super- 
abundant labour-supply  still  exists.  As  China's 
industries  open  up,  this  superabundance  will 
diminish. 

The  Chinese  labourer  is  a  remarkably  cheery 
person.  You  see  him  working,  working,  work- 
ing, hammering  or  handling  enormous  bales 
of  merchandise  from  early  morning  till  late 
at  night,  but  always  with  a  broad  smile  upon 
his  yellow,  shiny  face.  His  endurance  is  simply 
wonderful.  He  will  do  the  physical  work  of 
half  a  dozen  white  men,  and  he  will  suffer 
hardships  from  his  cradle  to  his  grave  that 
would  kill  a  European  in  five  minutes.     His 

238 


CHINESE  LABOUR  IN  CHINA 

stock  of  conversation  is  not  large  :  he  can 
only  talk  about  his  coppers  or  his  food,  but 
he  is  far  from  being  unintelligent,  and  when 
initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  machinery  or 
mining  work — even  that  of  a  technical  nature 
— he  will  pick  it  up  with  a  quickness  which  is 
little  short  of  marvellous.  It  is  marvellous 
when  you  remember  that  this  man  is  an 
agriculturist  by  birth,  by  habit  and  by 
profession.  He  is  a  country  yokel — nothing 
more.  Yet,  if  you  choose  to  take  him  in 
hand  you  can  transform  him  into  a  trained 
chauffeur  within  the  space  of  six  weeks  or 
two  months  at  the  outside. 

If  it  were  not  for  John  Chinaman's  inherent 
venal  weaknesses,  he  would  economically  sweep 
the  European  off  the  map.  But  these  weak- 
nesses undermine  the  individual  as  much 
as  they  undermine  the  State.  The  corrupt 
man  makes  corrupt  officialdom,  and  corrupt 
officialdom  means  empty  coffers.  A  mining 
company  which  is  established  in  China  under 
foreign  control  may  meet  with  opposition 
from  villagers  as  well  as  from  officials  when 
it  becomes  a  question  of  taking  up  land 
adjoining  its  property  to  extend  its  operations 
to  a  big  scale.  It  means  disturbing  the  local 
farmers  and  depriving  the  less  prosperous 
ones  of  their  means  of  subsistence,  which  they 
naturally  resent.  For  this  purpose,  it  may 
be  found  advisable  to  arrange  for  the  acquire- 

239 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

ment  of  new  land  through  indirect  means.  A 
Chinese  land  investment  company  will  be 
found  a  good  method. 

Such  a  company  will  be  in  a  position  to 
buy  up  land  without  suspicion  being  aroused. 
It  will  be  able  to  acquire  ground  at  a  com- 
paratively cheap  rate,  for  it  will  only  have  to 
pay  the  rate  ruling  at  the  moment.  If  a 
flourishing  mining  company  were  to  come 
forward  as  a  buyer,  the  Chinese  occupier 
would  put  a  stiff  price  upon  his  consent  to 
sell.  Furthermore,  according  to  Chinese  law 
foreigners  are  not  permitted  to  buy  land  in 
China  in  their  own  names,  so  that  indirect 
means  of  securing  mining  opportunities  must 
be  found  somehow.  From  this  land  invest- 
ment company  land  can  be  rented  for  as  long 
or  as  short  a  time  as  may  be  considered  neces- 
sary, but  of  course  a  fixed  agreement  will 
have  to  be  drawn  up  as  a  basis  for  making  a 
suitable  working  arrangement. 

The  Chinese  are  often  very  clever  in  their 
"dabblings  "  in  land.  When  the  Shanghai-Nan- 
king Railway  was  being  built,  great  difficulty 
was  experienced  over  the  acquirement  of  land 
between  Soochow  and  Wusieh.  As  it  was  a 
Chinese  Government  railway,  though  being 
built  with  foreign  capital,  the  official  Sheng, 
who  was  entrusted  with  Chinese  interests  in 
looking  after  it,  should  have  made  every 
endeavour  to  get  it  built  as  quickly  and  as 

240 


CHINESE  LABOUR  IN  CHINA 

cheaply  as  possible.  But  the  Sheng  family 
suffered  from  no  ridiculous  delusions  of  this 
sort.  Its  members  knew  what  a  time-serving 
thing  a  government  is.  Accordingly,  a  land 
company  was  formed  with  Sheng's  son  at 
the  head  of  it,  and  whenever  the  railway-track 
had  been  surveyed  and  decided  upon,  the 
land  was  promptly  bought  up  and  offered  to 
the  railway  at  a  greatly  enhanced  price. 

The  Shanghai  correspondent  of  "  The 
Times,"  who  was  responsible  for  the  above 
story,  also  told  how  so-called  benevolent 
societies  made  quite  a  good  profit  out  of 
bones  from  unknown  graves  along  the  path 
of  the  same  railway,  demanding  compensa- 
tion for  all  the  graves  which  were  being 
disturbed. 

At  present  there  are  no  organized  land 
banks  in  China  to  help  the  agriculturist. 
Down  in  the  south,  merchants  and  farmers 
help  themselves  by  friendly  co-operative  loan 
societies.  Their  system  is  very  similar  to 
that  prevailing  in  India,  whereby  a  number 
of  men  subscribe  so  much  money  and  get  the 
use  of  the  accumulated  sum  in  succession  one 
after  the  other.  For  example.  A,  B,  C,  and  D 
will  subscribe  $100  each  into  the  common 
fund.  They  will  draw  lots  for  the  privilege 
of  being  the  first  to  use  this  money.  If  B 
uses  it  first,  he  must  repay  the  amount  bor- 
rowed at  the  end  of  a  year,  and  somebody 
B  241 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

else  then  gets  the  use  of  it,  but  B  will  have 
had  the  buying-power  of  four  men  during  his 
year  of  using  it,  and  he  will  not  have  had 
to  pay  high  interest  on  the  money  borrowed. 
In  a  word,  group  action  can  be  enjoyed  by  the 
individual  under  a  loaning  system  of  this 
nature,  and  group  action  agrees  well  with 
China. 


242 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE    OTHER    SIDE    OF    THE    PICTURE 

These  are  the  records  of  Hai  Wat-Ho,  a 
wearer  of  the  yellow  girdle,  and  junior  guardian 
of  the  Heir  Apparent,  written  in  the  tenth 
moon  of  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  Kuang  Hsu, 
the  Emperor  Most  Illustrious  of  China. 

When  first,  long  years  ago,  our  worthy 
Chinese  traders  made  their  virgin  voyage  to 
English  shores,  they  were  not  received  by  the 
western  barbarians  with  proper  politeness. 
This  grieved  our  merchant  fathers  exceedingly 
much,  for  they  had  come,  not  as  enemies  with 
designs  upon  Great  Britain's  integrity  as  a 
state — they  had  come  in  peaceful  merchant- 
ships  laden  with  tea,  silk,  or  straw-braid, 
without  any  ulterior  motives  of  interfering 
with  Britain's  domestic  affairs  or  of  annexing 
English  provinces. 

Without  cause,  the  barbarians  were  both 
insular  and  insolent.  But  our  merchant 
fathers  were  men  of  broad  mind.  They  rea- 
lized that   a   poor,  unenlightened   nation  like 

243 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

the  British  could  only  take  its  tone  from  its 
mandarin  class,  and  they  did  not  blame  the 
people.     Instead,  they  set  themselves  to  sell 
their  merchandise,  and  at  last  they  succeeded 
in    doing    so,    but    only    after   giving    lavish 
"  squeeze  "  to  everybody  with  whom  they  came 
in  contact,  whether  they  were  big  men,  small 
men,  or  middle  men.     In  England  this  horrible 
word    "  squeeze  "    is    not    called    "  squeeze." 
The  barbarians  say  "  commission."      But  the 
meaning  is  precisely  the  same,  and  the  word, 
like  the  canker-worm,  undermines  this  miser- 
able nation's  heart  in  the  same  way  that  a 
ripe  pear  is  eaten  up  by  corruption.     Such  a 
state  of  affairs  is  much  to  be  deplored,  but 
in  time,  no  doubt,  Chinese  influence  in  London 
will  help  to  introduce  a  change  in  this  respect. 
Our  merchant  fathers,  however,  were  com- 
pelled to  feign  a  satisfaction  with  this  system 
of  "  squeeze  "  which  they  did  not  really  feel, 
and  they  were  eventually  permitted  to  dispose 
of  their  stock  of  tea,  silk  and  straw-braid,  and 
to  load  up  their  ships   with   a  return  cargo 
of   locomotives,    electrical   generating    plants, 
weigh-bridges,  steam-rollers,  and  other  trifling 
articles   which   they   managed  to   sell   in   our 
market    towns    and    river-ports    when    they 
returned    home.      These     new     toys     greatly 
pleased    our    Chinese    people,    and    awakened 
their  interest  in  these  barbarian  islands  of  the 
West. 

244 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF  THE   PICTURE 

Our  merchant  fathers  also  told  wonderful 
tales  of  profit  which  might  be  made  in  Britain 
if  only  the  country  were  administered  on 
respectable  Chinese  lines,  if  the  obstructing 
mandarinate  were  swept  away,  and  if  this 
barbarian  nation  could  be  made  to  keep  pace 
with  the  rest  of  the  uncivilized  world. 

Our  Chinese  mouths  watered  as  our  mer- 
chant fathers  told  these  tales,  and  other 
trading  expeditions  were  accordingly  fitted 
out  which  resulted  in  constant  friction  with 
the  British  mandarins  and  in  the  intro- 
duction of  more  steel  toys  to  China.  This 
constant  friction  eventually  led  to  war,  but 
as  friction  with  these  mandarins  has  not 
ceased  yet,  I  will  set  forth  the  principles  on 
which  the  power  of  these  men  rests. 

This  is  necessary  so  that  my  sons  and  grand- 
sons may  know  how  to  deal  with  these  English 
barbarians  when  we  shall  have  entirely  annexed 
their  land.  Theoretically,  then.  Great  Britain 
is  supposed  to  be  ruled  by  the  people — that 
is  to  say,  it  is  supposed  to  be  ruled  by  the 
mob.  How  absurd  is  this  idea  on  the  face 
of  it !  How  can  a  mob  rule  any  country  ? 
And  even  if  it  could,  how  could  it  rule  such  a 
country  of  savages,  all  entirely  ignorant  of 
right  principles  ? 

This  ridiculous  state  of  affairs  permits  cer- 
tain astute  political  schemers  to  profit.  These 
schemers  arrange  the  whole  British  Constitu- 

245 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

tion  to  suit  their  own  particular  ends,  and 
to  enable  them  to  rule  their  so-called  rulers, 
the  mob.  The  mob,  of  course,  is  too  stupid 
to  see  that  it  is  being  ruled,  besides  which 
its  members  are  too  busy  taking  "  commis- 
sion "  or  mixing  sand  with  sugar  to  think 
about  such  things.  This  is  most  deplorable. 
It  is  very  sad  indeed.  It  will  be  part  of 
China's  duty  to  undeceive  these  poor  deluded 
savages  later  on. 

At  present  they  are  deceived  in  the  follow- 
ing way  :  Every  five  years,  or  oftener,  there 
is  supposed  to  be  an  election,  but  the  people 
always  vote  as  they  are  told  to  vote,  because 
they  cannot  very  well  do  anything  else,  the 
schemers  having  arranged  all  that  beforehand. 
It  matters  not  whichever  candidate  gets  into 
the  Parliamentary  Yamen  at  Westminster — 
the  result  is  just  the  same  :  he  owes  his 
allegiance  to  the  leading  schemers  who  sit 
on  the  two  front  benches,  but  never  to  the 
people  who  think  they  rule  the  land. 

These  leading  schemers  keep  up  the  decep- 
tion by  dividing  their  followers  into  two  big 
camps.  These  they  name  respectively  Radi- 
cals and  Tories,  and  at  stated  times  called 
"  crises  "  they  make  their  followers  fight. 
But  these  fights,  like  everything  else  in 
Great  Britain,  are  only  a  pretence.  They 
are  only  mock-battles,  and  most  of  them  are 
very  stale  to  boot.     One  stock-piece  is  gener- 

246 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

ally  known  by  the  name  of  Home  Rule. 
Another  is  called  Tariff  Reform.  Of  course, 
neither  of  these  absurd  titles  means  anything 
to  anybody,  except  to  the  schemers  who  sit 
upon  the  front  benches  in  the  Parliamentary 
Yamen  at  Westminster,  but  to  them  they 
are.  important,  because  they  distract  the 
people  and  make  them  believe  they  are  ruling 
the  land — poor  things  ! 

How  ignorant  these  barbarians  really  must 
be  in  their  miserably  overgrown  civilization 
of  the  West ! — for  instead  of  having  the  whip- 
hand  of  these  schemers  they  are  docile  to 
their  barkings  as  sheep  to  the  shepherd's  dog. 
When  the  schemers  who  sit  in  the  Parlia- 
mentary Yamen  at  Westminster  tell  them  to 
open  their  pockets,  they  obediently  do  so. 
When  they  are  told  to  pay  an  income  tax 
of  twenty  shillings  in  the  pound,  they  do  so 
again  without  demur.  When  the  leading 
schemers  tell  them  to  build  more  useless 
war-junks,  of  course  they  willingly  comply, 
because  they  do  not  see  that  it  is  the  schemers 
themselves  who  profit  by  junk-building  ac- 
tivity. The  latter  hold  most  of  the  shares 
in  the  junk-building  yards,  and  naturally 
they  like  those  shares  to  bring  them  in  as 
much  profit  as  possible.  The  British  bar- 
barians do  not  see  through  the  wiles  of  their 
bad,  scheming  mandarins — poor  things  ! 

But  the  latter  are  as  much  the  enemies  of 
247 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

China  as  they  are  of  their  own  people.  They 
oppose  our  nationals  coming  to  England. 
They  oppose  our  decivilizing  intentions.  They 
try  to  evade  our  demands,  and  they  try  to 
deceive  enlightened  men  from  the  Orient  as 
though  they  were  mere  creatures  like  their 
own  mute  underlings.  The  lesser  schemers 
who  sit  in  the  Parliamentary  Yamen  at 
Westminster  are  kept  in  order  by  those  who 
sit  upon  the  two  front  benches  by  a  system 
of  rewards,  or  rather  by  a  system  of  no  rewards 
if  they  dare  to  say  anything  except  what 
they  are  told  to  say.  In  the  same  way  the 
public  press  is  muzzled  by  a  fear  of  losing 
financial  support  or  advertisements,  which 
mean  the  same  thing. 

As  a  result,  a  morbid  fear  of  truth  hangs 
like  a  heavy  door-curtain  over  the  mouth  of 
every  poor  savage  in  these  far-off  western 
isles,  for  truth  is  not  in  them.  One  word  of 
truth  is  never  uttered  in  Great  Britain,  because 
it  is  too  unsettling.  China's  duty  plainly 
points  to  enlightening  the  British  people,  and 
to  making  Great  Britain  keep  the  same  pace 
as  the  rest  of  the  uncivilized  world.  This 
can  only  be  accomplished  by  tearing  up 
railways  and  by  shutting  down  mines. 

But  when  China  first  broached  this  idea 
and  offered  Great  Britain  this  panacea  for 
social  unrest  the  mandarin  schemers  in  the 
Parliamentary  Yamen  at  Westminster  showed 

248 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

active  hostility  at  once.  Consular  and  diplo- 
matic friction  was  the  outcome,  and  both 
these  frictions  finally  ended  in  the  waging  of 
active  war. 

It  was  really  on  account  of  the  schemers 
that  the  "  straw-braid "  war  was  waged. 
By  that  war  we  secured  the  opening  of  treaty 
ports  at  Margate  and  Southsea,  as  all  the 
world  knows.  But  the  issue  of  that  conflict 
was  never  in  doubt  from  the  moment  the  first 
junk  was  sunk.  By  organization  pure  and 
simple  were  the  British  barbarians  defeated. 

But  could  it  well  have  been  otherwise  ? 
Was  China  not  the  first  nation  to  invent  gun- 
powder ?  And  how  could  these  upstart 
savages  from  the  world's  end  expect  to  with- 
stand our  arms  ?  Of  course,  they  were  utterly 
defeated,  and  had  we  been  desirous  of  annexing 
their  miserable  provinces  we  might  have 
done  so  then  without  the  slightest  difficulty. 
But  we  were  magnanimous — we  allowed  them 
to  preserve  a  semblance  of  nationality,  though 
we  insisted  upon  diplomatic  representation 
at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  as  well  as  upon 
exterritorial  rights  being  enjoyed  by  Chinese 
residents  in  England. 

This  latter  right  was  particularly  necessary, 
because  we  found  no  law  at  all  in  England, 
or  rather,  perhaps  I  ought  to  say,  we  found 
two  laws.  There  was  one  law  for  rich  people, 
and  another  law  for  poor  people,  so  there  was 

249 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

not  even  a  pretence  at  justice  in  the  land. 
Our  traders  and  officials  reported  that  a  rich 
man  might  defraud  thousands  of  people 
through  a  financial  deal,  and  no  punishment 
would  he  get,  whereas  a  poor  man  who  took 
a  little  ride  on  the  back  part  of  a  taxi-machine- 
cart  would  be  put  into  jail. 

Even  the  murderer  never  knew  whether 
he  would  get  punished  or  not.  At  times  he 
might  be  put  to  death,  or  he  might  be  merely- 
imprisoned,  or  even  liberated  altogether.  It 
entirely  depended  upon  the  number  of  plausible 
untruths  his  counsel  told  about  him.  It  also 
depended  upon  the  judge's  credulity.  A 
strong  bench  of  deaf  judges  is  what  this 
unfortunate  barbarian  nation  certainly  needs. 

There  is  no  need  to  follow  all  the  details  of 
the  war  which  secured  exterritorial  rights  to 
Chinese  subjects.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  a 
preliminary  footing  in  England  was  made. 
Consular  courts  were  established  at  Margate 
and  Southsea,  in  part  to  maintain  order 
amongst  our  own  nationals,  and  in  part  to 
enable  the  poor  down-trodden  Britishers  to 
see  how  much  fairer  Chinese  laws  were  than 
their  own.  But  as  regards  actual  fighting 
there  was  practically  nil.  It  was  only  neces- 
sary for  us  to  threaten  to  disturb  the  British 
money  market,  and  the  enemy  caved  in  at 
once. 

I  ought,  however,  to  mention  that  the 
250 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF  THE   PICTURE 

army  of  these  barbarians  employs  two  distinct 
sorts  of  braves.  Of  the  bigger  variety — the 
so-called  Regular  Army — we  saw  little,  because 
all  of  them  were  away  guarding  the  leading 
schemers,  who  sit  upon  the  front  benches 
in  the  Yamen  at  Westminster,  from  stones 
which  barbarian  women  are  in  the  habit  of 
throwing  at  their  heads. 

It  was  the  less  stalwart  variety — the  boy- 
scouts — by  whom  we  were  chiefly  opposed. 
These  boy-scouts  are  certainly  not  very 
formidable.  They  do  not  carry  rifles.  They 
only  carry  long  sticks  or  staves  with  which 
they  knock  down  apples  to  throw  at  their 
enemies.  In  addition  to  this,  they  carry 
little  bows  of  ribbon  sewn  on  to  their  shoulders 
to  prevent  them  being  mistaken  for  men. 
But  despite  their  apples  and  their  long  sticks, 
these  braves  were  no  match  for  our  warriors. 
Moreover,  they  had  never  learned  to  combine 
their  military  tactics  with  the  exigencies  of 
the  junk  warriors.  They  look  upon  war  as 
purely  a  land  affair,  instead  of  recognizing  its 
land  and  water  phases. 

In  this  respect  the  bigger  variety,  or  so- 
called  Regular  Army,  may  be  better  trained. 
But  its  officers  are  compelled  to  pay  themselves 
out  of  their  own  pockets,  for  by  that  system 
there  is  a  bigger  margin  of  public  money 
whereby  the  schemers,  who  sit  in  the  Parlia- 
mentary   Yamen    at    Westminster,    may    fill 

251 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

their  own.  This  they  contrive  to  do  by  means 
of  the  vote.  They  vote  themselves  worth 
four  thousand  Shanghai  dollars  a  year,  and 
as  nobody  in  England  is  allowed  to  tell  the 
truth,  there  is  nobody  to  tell  them  that  they 
are  not  worth  ten  cash.  This  state  of  affairs 
is  much  to  be  deplored. 

But  the  leading  schemers  who  sit  in  the 
Parliamentary  Yamen  at  Westminster  give 
themselves  a  bigger  salary  still.  They  pay 
themselves  at  a  rate  only  fitted  for  a  low 
comedian  or  the  head-waiter  at  a  London 
restaurant.  Is  it  right  that  the  most  useless 
members  of  society  should  be  paid  as  lavishly 
as  the  most  useful  ?  This  state  of  affairs  in 
Britain  distresses  me  very  greatly. 

At  the  time  of  that  war  China  was,  as  I 
have  shown,  magnanimous.  It  was  hoped 
that  one  lesson  would  be  sufficient  to  make 
these  barbarians  change  their  ways.  But 
since  then  Anglo-foreign  relations  in  Britain 
have  been  complicated  by  the  appearance  of  a 
host  of  other  nationals  upon  the  scene.  Our 
system  of  the  "  open  door  "  was  responsible 
for  this.  We  practically  invited  all  the  other 
nations  to  share  the  commercial  advantages 
we  had  secured  by  enterprise  and  by  force  of 
arms.  In  response  to  this  invitation  the 
negroes,  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  the  Red 
Indians,  Laps,  and  one  or  two  minor  races 
hurried  to  English  shores. 

252 


THE   OTHER  SIDE  OP  THE   PICTURE 

All  of  these  peoples  were  not  at  first  actuated 
by  the  same  friendly  commercial  aims  as 
ourselves.  Some  of  them — Lapland  and  Li- 
beria, for  instance — were  looking  out  for  the 
acquisition  of  territory  as  well  as  trade.  For 
a  long  time  Liberia's  swarming  millions  had 
given  her  cause  for  anxiety.  She  had  been 
clamouring  for  a  place  in  the  sun  for  many 
years  past.  In  Great  Britain  she  naturally 
hoped  to  secure  it,  though  I  am  told  on  reliable 
authority  that  the  sun  is  never  seen  in  that 
miserable  island  even  in  the  height  of  summer. 
More  recently,  however,  there  has  been 
less  talk  of  partition  and  more  talk  of  securing 
peaceful  conditions. 

But  in  one  respect  all  of  us  foreigners  have 
been  unanimous  in  deciding  that  Great  Britain 
must  keep  pace  with  the  rest  of  the  uncivilized 
world.  To  further  this  determination,  we  all 
sent  over  various  decivilizing  missionary  so- 
cieties to  try  to  teach  British  barbarians  the 
principles  of  right  living. 

Some  of  these  secured  a  few  followers,  but 
nothing  of  any  importance  had  been  accom- 
plished in  national  education  until  three  years 
ago,  when  one  of  the  Liberian  decivilizing 
missionaries  was  ruthlessly  murdered  in  Picca- 
dilly in  broad  daylight  by  a  motor-car.  Such 
a  stir  did  this  ghastly  aliair  make  all  over 
Africa,  that  Liberia  was  enabled  to  make  the 
event  an  excuse  for  occupying  Cardiff  together 

253 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

with  a  large  strip  of  land  extending  over  the 
South  Wales  coal  areas. 

Lapland  annexed  Newcastle  ;  and  China, 
rather  from  a  wish  to  satisfy  public  opinion 
at  home  than  from  any  real  desire  for  British 
land,  seized  the  Island  of  Wight,  and  secured, 
in  addition,  a  perpetual  lease  over  the  Sand- 
wich Golf  Course  for  a  period  of  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  years.  Despite  British  official 
antipathy  and  popular  stupidity,  it  was  evident 
that  Great  Britain  hung  down  her  head  in 
shame  before  the  whole  world. 

That  was  the  moment  to  secure  advantages, 
and  Liberia  attempted  to  do  so.  She  pro- 
posed concentrating  her  energies  upon  the 
province  of  Cardiff,  and  she  anticipated  no 
obstruction  from  the  local  mining  gentry 
when  she  applied  for  a  concession  to  shut  down 
the  mines.  This,  of  course,  as  the  British 
mandarins  well  knew,  was  a  matter  of  vital 
necessity.  They  knew  that  their  country 
could  never  become  regenerated  until  indus- 
trial activity  was  checked.  All  their  disturb- 
ances, all  their  unrest,  were  directly  attribut- 
able to  mines  and  railways.  Until  railways 
should  be  torn  up  and  mines  shut  down  no 
progress  could  be  anticipated.  The  output 
of  gold-mines  had  lowered  the  buying-power 
of  money.  In  its  turn  the  lower  buying- 
power  of  money  had  raised  the  cost  of  living. 
Luxuries  had  become  necessities,  and  a  feverish 

254 


THE   OTHER  SIDE   OF  THE   PICTURE 

idolization  of  gold  had  been  the  result.  This 
feverish  industrialism  had  disquieted  the  rest 
of  the  uncivilized  world,  and  the  uncivilized 
world  was  in  no  mood  to  permit  any  one 
nation  to  set  such  a  dangerous  pace. 

Industrial  war  in  Great  Britain  was,  and 
still  is,  ceaseless.  The  British  barbarians  do 
not  call  it  war  ;  they  speak  of  a  "  strike " 
or  "  lock-out,"  but  those  two  words  are 
only  synonyms  for  the  same  thing — war — war 
— war.  In  front  of  me  is  a  pile  of  letters, 
postcards,  letter-cards,  telegrams,  and  many 
other  sorts  of  communications  from  various 
Chinese  residents  in  Britain.  In  every  one  of 
these  missives  is  the  same  question  asked  : 
"  When  are  Great  Britain's  industrial  wars 
going  to  end,  in  order  that  we  may  trade 
peacefully  ?  "  To  every  one  of  these  missives 
have  I  sent  the  same  reply  :  "  Tear  up  British 
railways,  shut  down  British  mines,  and  the 
world  will  be  at  peace." 

But  to  return  to  Liberia's  application  for  a 
concession  to  shut  down  the  Cardiff  mines. 
As  we  have  seen,  the  negroes  anticipated 
no  obstruction  on  the  part  of  the  local  mining 
gentry,  because  during  two  or  three  "  strikes  " 
they  had  attempted  to  shut  down  the  mines 
themselves. 

But  the  schemers  in  the  Parliamentary 
Yamen  at  Westminster  refused  at  first  to 
grant  this  concession,  on  the  grounds  that  the 

255 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

loca^gentry  would  riot.  Of  course,  this  answer 
was  a  subterfuge,  a  mere  excuse,  so  resort  was 
had  to  diplomatic  pressure  on  the  part  of  the 
Liberian  Minister  in  London.  This  gentleman 
happened  to  be  named  Jack  Johnson,  and 
being  something  of  a  boxer  his  power  over 
the  timid  British  mandarins  was  immense. 

No  sooner  did  he  call  at  Downing  Street 
than  they  granted  his  request  at  once.  In 
spite  of  this  success,  however,  trouble  was  in 
store  for  Liberia,  for  there  had  been  more 
truth  in  what  these  mandarins  said  than 
anybody  had  really  supposed.  Although  the 
Cardiff  miners  had  frequently  tried  to  shut 
down  the  mines  themselves,  they  refused  point- 
blank  when  ordered  by  the  negroes  to  do  so. 

What  was  Liberia  to  do  ?  Things  looked 
black.  But  so  did  the  negroes.  With  great 
forbearance  they  ordered  the  miners  to  go 
and  dismantle  the  mines  below.  The  miners 
replied  by  ordering  a  general  strike.  Things 
again  looked  black.  But,  as  I  said  before, 
so  did  the  negroes.  Without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  they  cabled  for  a  couple  of 
battalions  of  Amazons,  and  the  strike  was 
ended  in  less  than  ten  minutes. 

The  tactics  of  the  Amazons  were  somewhat 
original.  They  made  advances  in  front,  whilst 
the  miners'  wives  made  advances  in  rear. 
The  miners  were  out-generalled.  They  were 
caught  between  two  fires,  and  the  position  was 

256 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

too  hot  for  any  man  to  have  stood  his  ground. 
These  fierce  fire-eating  Welsh  miners  blenched, 
and  wavered,  and  broke,  and  fled. 

Down  the  shaft  they  tumbled  one  after 
another  in  quick  succession,  each  man  crying 
for  mercy  as  he  tried  to  get  away.  After 
them  rushed  the  Amazons  with  pouting  lips 
and  wide  extended  arms.  Every  miner,  divin- 
ing their  intentions,  tried  to  show  a  clean 
pair  of  heels,  but  not  all  of  them  could  go 
down  below.  A  few  sought  safety  by  climb- 
ing up  the  head-gear,  but  most  of  them  were 
caught  like  snakes  in  the  grass  and  fell  into 
the  arms  of  their  foes. 

Whilst  these  exciting  events  were  taking 
place,  the  South  Sea  Islanders  were  not  allow- 
ing any  grass  to  grow  under  their  feet.  By 
paying  lavish  "  commission  "  to  the  schemers 
in  the  Parliamentary  Yamen  at  Westminster, 
or  through  some  other  corrupt  practice,  of 
which  there  is  no  record,  these  men  managed 
to  secure  a  magnificent  contract  for  railroad 
demolition  in  London.  This  was  all  the  more 
remarkable  because  the  South  Sea  Island  is 
not  a  very  important  country.  Its  standing 
army  is  comparatively  small,  and  amongst 
the  Powers  in  London  it  has  ranked  hitherto 
only  in  the  second  place. 

But  whilst  China  and  the  other  nations 
have  been  attempting  to  secure  political  privi- 
leges, the  South  Sea  Islanders  have  kept  their 
s  257 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

eyes  resolutely  fixed  on  railways  ;  and,  as  a 
result,  they  have  obtained  permission  to  tear 
up  all  the  Metropolitan  District  lines.  This 
should  be  a  lesson  to  China  not  to  hold  a 
bayonet  to  England's  throat.  China  should 
not  exasperate  these  barbarians  too  much 
by  threats  of  disturbing  the  money  market. 
Of  course,  the  negroes,  and  Red  Indians,  the 
Laps,  and  ourselves  immediately  applied  for 
equal  treatment  under  the  most  favoured 
nation  clause,  but  none  of  the  concessions 
we  managed  to  extort  were  of  the  magnitude 
of  the  South  Sea  Islanders'  splendid  contract. 

We  were  permitted  to  tear  up  a  few  sections 
of  the  London  North  Western  lines,  but  work 
of  demolition  has  been  delayed  again  and 
again  by  "  strikes,"  so  that  the  result  is  not 
very  encouraging.  The  Red  Indians  were 
permitted  to  tear  up  the  London  Brighton 
Railway,  and  the  negroes  some  two  hundred 
miles  of  track  in  the  flourishing  Island  of  Man, 
but  apart  from  these  trifling  beginnings 
England  is  still  unreformed.  Now  comes  the 
news  that  the  South  Sea  Islanders  have 
secured  a  second  magnificent  contract. 

The  terms  of  that  contract  are  not  yet 
published ;  nor  has  the  matter  yet  been 
definitely  approved  by  the  Yamen  at  West- 
minster ;  but  it  is  generally  understood  that 
the  terms  have  been  satisfactorily  arranged 
and  that  the  matter  is  practically  settled. 

258 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

The  South  Sea  Islanders  are  going  to  be 
allowed  to  tear  up  every  railway  linking  Bel- 
fast with  the  rest  of  Ireland.  Think  of  it ! 
Think  of  the  magnitude  of  this  great  project ! 
Think  what  a  wonderful  decivilizing  work  will 
accrue  to  our  fortunate  friends. 

No  longer  will  the  noisy  railway-truck 
disturb  the  Ulsterman's  peaceful  slumbers. 
Pigs,  goats,  and  other  Irish  pedestrians  will 
be  able  to  roam  about  without  fear  of  being 
suddenly  crushed  to  death.  The  hideous 
shriek  of  the  engine,  the  dirty  soot  from  its 
smoke,  will  be  known  no  more  in  this  peace- 
loving  quarter  of  Ireland. 

Last  year  I  thought  I  saw  signs  of  real 
regeneration  in  the  hearts  of  the  British 
themselves.  Without  any  warning,  in  the 
middle  of  the  summer  these  barbarians  began 
to  tear  up  the  London  streets.  No  strike  was 
taking  place  at  the  time,  and  I  certainly 
thought  that  if  they  had  become  sufficiently 
enlightened  to  tear  up  the  roads  we  should 
soon  be  gladdened  by  news  of  their  tearing 
up  the  railroads.  But  my  hopes  were  short- 
lived. Reaction  has  followed  this  momentary 
spurt  of  enlightenment,  and  all  the  roads  have 
been  laid  down  again  more  carefully  than 
before. 

In  time,  no  doubt,  the  British  will  under- 
stand right  principles,  but  at  present  they 
are  woefully  backward.     Maybe  we  ought  to 

259 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

be  thankful  for  small  mercies,  and  to  feel 
satisfied  that  a  few  lines,  at  any  rate,  are 
now  being  torn  up.  But  it  is  interesting 
to  recall  the  subterfuge  by  which  the  first 
railway  in  Great  Britain  was  destroyed.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  schemers  in  the 
Parliamentary  Yamen  at  Westminster  were 
frankly  obstructive,  and  refused  to  permit 
any  contracts  of  any  sort  for  railway  destruc- 
tion until  two  or  three  years  ago. 

Accordingly,  the  enterprising  Chinese  firm 
of  Bo  Tai  conceived  the  brilliant  idea  of  laying 
down  a  model  track,  and  then  applying  for  a 
concession  to  tear  it  up  again.  By  that  means 
they  hoped  to  educate  the  people  up  to  railway 
destruction.  With  this  objective  in  view  they 
laid  a  few  miles  of  track  across  the  Sandwich 
Golf  Course. 

They  did  not  anticipate  any  obstruction 
from  the  local  inhabitants,  because  many  of 
them  were  retired  colonels  and  other  unwarlike 
creatures,  but  strangely  enough  a  hullabaloo 
was  raised  at  once.  Bo  Tai  and  Company 
could  not  fail  to  understand  what  the  reason 
for  this  simulated  anger  was.  The  local 
gentry  had  no  objection  to  the  railway  itself, 
of  course,  but  they  objected  to  the  interference 
of  foreigners  in  laying  their  line  across  their 
course. 

They  wired  their  remonstrances  to  London, 
and    Big    Man   Grey,   the   barbarian   Foreign 

260 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF  THE   PICTURE 

Minister,  called  personally  upon  our  Chinese 
Ambassador  about  the  matter.  He  began 
by  declaring  that  Bo  Tai  and  Company  had 
exceeded  their  rights  in  laying  down  any 
railway  at  all.  But  that,  of  course,  was  mere 
bluff.  It  was  a  miserable  subterfuge  ;  for  had 
we  not  secured  a  perpetual  lease  over  the 
Sandwich  Golf  Course  for  a  period  of  nine 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  years  ? 

Our  Ambassador  pointed  this  out,  and 
Big  Man  Grey  changed  his  tone  at  once.  He 
begged  our  Ambassador  to  exert  all  his 
influence  to  make  Bo  Tai  and  Company  tear 
up  their  railway. 

"  But,"  said  His  Excellency,  "  that  is  pre- 
cisely what  these  gentlemen  wish  you  to  give 
them  a  concession  to  do." 

Big  Man  Grey  turned  pale  when  he  heard 
these  words.  "Do  you  not  understand,"  he 
urged,  "  that  if  I  give  your  countrymen 
permission  to  tear  up  this  railway  it  will  be 
setting  a  precedent,  and  I  shall  '  lose  face ' 
with  my  fellow- officials  in  the  Government  ?  " 

"  Very  well,"  said  our  Ambassador,  "  then 
I  shall  not  make  Bo  Tai  and  Company  remove 
their  line." 

Again  Big  Man  Grey  turned  pale.  He 
even  shivered  like  an  aspirin  lozenge.  "  Your 
countrymen  must  remove  their  railway,"  he 
said,  "  or  there  may  be  a  riot.  In  that  case, 
the  local  gentry  might  tear  up  the  line  them- 

261 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

selves,  and  once  they  get  into  the  habit  of 
doing  that  sort  of  thing  England  will  become 
entirely  reformed." 

Our  Ambassador  smiled  a  cold,  hard  smile. 
There  was  a  moment's  pause  before  he  made 
reply.  "  That,"  said  he,  "  is  precisely  the 
habit  we  want  them  to  acquire.  Now  you 
may  either  issue  to  Bo  Tai  and  Company  the 
contract  they  need  to  tear  up  this  railway, 
or  you  may  let  your  local  barbarians  tear  up 
the  line  themselves.  To  China  it  does  not 
matter  which  you  like  to  do." 

Big  Man  Grey  was  completely  mastered. 
Of  course,  he  issued  the  contract  in  the  end, 
and  that  document  has  been  a  valuable 
precedent  for  securing  other  railway  destruc- 
tion contracts  of  greater  importance  since  then. 
Nowadays  these  contracts  are  somewhat  easier 
to  obtain,  but  the  schemers  in  the  Parlia- 
mentary Yamen  at  Westminster  still  try  to 
"save  their  face"  by  insisting  that  60%  of 
the  capital  of  any  railway  destruction  company 
shall  be  nominally  held  in  British  hands. 

Of  course,  this  is  a  ridiculous  farce.  For 
instance,  six  months  ago,  when  we  secured 
the  concession  to  tear  up  the  railway  between 
Chester  and  Liverpool,  we  found  all  the  strings 
of  cash,  but  a  British  bank  nominally  con- 
tributed 60%  of  them.  In  reality,  of  course, 
the  bank  received  a  handsome  commission  for 
the  use  of  its  name. 

262 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

At  the  same  time,  it  was  given  out  that  all 
the  country  covered  by  that  railway-track 
was  required  by  the  company  to  make  foot- 
ball grounds.  By  this  means  local  suspicion 
was  allayed,  and  the  work  of  destruction  was 
carried  out  with  the  greatest  despatch.  Plenty 
of  labour  was  available,  and  reform  was  thus 
introduced  without  the  slightest  friction.  The 
hearts  of  all  Chinese  men  ought  to  swell 
with  pride  at  the  contemplation  of  our  good 
work.  My  pen  quivers  with  emotion  as  I 
think  of  it ;  but  despite  our  little  successes  our 
road  of  reform  in  Britain  is  still  far  from 
smooth. 

The  barbarians  themselves  are  so  backward 
and  upside-down  in  everything  they  do.  Look 
at  their  administrative  methods.  Their  Lord 
High  Junk-man  is  not  by  trade  a  junk-man 
at  all.  He  is  a  retired  cavalry  lieutenant.  He 
recognized  early  in  his  career  that  only 
the  mandarins  who  sit  in  the  Yamen  at 
Westminster  possess  any  power  in  this  unen- 
lightened land. 

He  probably  saw  that  the  Army  in  which 
he  began  official  life  is  controlled  by  what 
the  Cantonese  would  call  "  funk."  The  lowest 
rank  is  in  terror  of  the  sergeant  rank  ;  the 
sergeant  rank  is  in  terror  of  the  subaltern 
rank  ;  the  subaltern  rank  is  in  terror  of  the 
"  shou  pci,"  or  captain  rank.  The  captain, 
in  his  turn,  is  in  terror  of  the  colonel.     The 

263 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

colonel  is  in  terror  of  the  general.  The  general 
is  in  terror  of  the  War  Office.  And  the  War 
Office  is  in  terror  of  what  the  schemers  who 
sit  in  the  Parliamentary  Yamen  at  West- 
minster may  think  of  its  actions. 

Accordingly,  it  has  to  deceive  those  schemers, 
and  this  it  does  by  a  system  of  "  eye-wash." 
As  a  natural  consequence,  the  War  Office  is 
deceived  by  the  general.  The  general  is 
deceived  by  the  colonel.  The  colonel  is  de- 
ceived by  the  captain.  The  captain  is  deceived 
by  the  subaltern.  The  subaltern  is  deceived 
by  the  sergeant.  And  the  sergeant  in  his  turn 
is  deceived  by  the  lowest  rank  of  all.  By 
this  means  it  will  be  seen  that  these  barbarians 
base  their  military  organization  on  a  chain 
of  "  funk  "  one  way  and  on  a  chain  of  "  eye- 
wash "  the  other. 

Are  not  these  things  sad  to  contemplate  ? 
Are  they  not  truly  deplorable  ?  But  with  a 
similar  charming  inconsequence  the  British 
barbarians  entrusted  the  finances  of  their 
country  to  a  man  who  is  not  a  financier 
at  all.  By  trade  he  is  a  lawyer.  That 
is  probably  the  only  reason  why  he  ever 
went  into  the  Parliamentary  Yamen.  If 
he  had  been  a  financier,  he  would  probably 
have  been  given  the  portfolio  of  foreign 
affairs.  He  would  never  have  been  given 
finance.  But  most  of  the  mandarins  who 
sit    in    the    Parliamentary  Yamen   at  West- 

264 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

minster  are  men  of  law.  They  cannot 
help  it,  poor  fellows  !  They  are  partly  the 
authors  and  partly  the  victims  of  the  system 
under  which  they  live.  At  any  rate,  they 
must  live  and  they  must  acquire  strings  of 
cash  whether  the  output  of  British  gold-mines 
has  lowered  the  buying-power  of  cash  or  not. 
Accordingly,  they  rush  into  the  Yamen  at 
Westminster  and  make  hurried  laws  which 
require  correction  afterwards. 

Nobody,  of  course,  can  correct  Gilbertian 
laws  except  the  lawyers  themselves,  so  they 
obtain  employment,  as  well  as  strings  of  cash, 
by  completing  the  work  outside  the  Yamen 
which  the  poor  deluded  people  think  they 
are  doing  inside.  Again,  I  repeat,  is  this  not 
a  deplorable  state  of  affairs  ? 

The  same  cause,  mines,  also  turns  the 
barbarian  doctor  into  a  deceiver.  He,  like 
his  brother  the  lawyer,  must  live  somehow. 
He  must  earn  strings  of  cash,  poor  fellow  ! 
When,  therefore,  a  perfectly  healthy  patient 
says  he  is  ill,  he  has  not  the  courage  to  tell 
him  he  is  perfectly  well. 

Instead  he  looks  at  the  man's  tongue  in  a 
perfunctory  sort  of  way,  but  he  looks  much 
more  carefully  at  the  size  of  the  patient's 
house.  He  notes  that  he  keeps  a  motor-car, 
two  men-servants,  and  several  hunters.  The 
doctor  cannot  help  himself.  He  is  bound  to 
prescribe    for    such    a    wealthy    patient.     He 

265 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

accordingly  gives  him  some  nauseating  mixture 
which  makes  him  more  or  less  sick,  and  thereby 
a  valuable  case  is  secured.  If  they  only  had 
our  Chinese  system  of  paying  by  results,  how 
much  better  it  would  be  for  these  unen- 
lightened Britishers ! 

When,  however,  a  poor  man  goes  to  the 
doctor,  he  is  given  a  little  coloured  water  and 
is  told  to  go  away.  That  is  because  the  poor 
man  is  of  no  use  to  the  doctor.  And  yet 
there  is  much  more  likelihood  of  the  poor  man 
needing  medical  attention  than  in  the  rich 
man's  case,  because  poor  feeding  and  squalid 
surroundings  breed  disease.  In  a  hundred 
other  ways  these  British  barbarians  are 
utterly  upside-down.  They  do  not  even  have 
an  emperor  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word. 

Their  religion  is  quite  wooden.  They  have 
no  ancestral  altars.  Every  seventh  day  they 
go  to  church,  where  usually  a  schoolboy  gets 
up  into  the  pulpit  and  tells  them  of  their  sins. 
They  do  not  listen,  of  course,  because  they 
go  to  sleep,  but  their  sins  are  really  only  two 
in  number.  They  probably  are  too  dull  to 
have  any  more  than  that.  They  mix  sand 
with  sugar  or  take  commission  upon  everything 
they  can  lay  their  hands  on,  but  the  boy  in 
the  pulpit  never,  never  mentions  those  sins. 
Instead  he  admonishes  them  on  the  seventh 
day  about  sins  they  never  could  possibly 
commit,  so,  of  course,  they  go  to  sleep.     In  all 

266 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

these  ways  the  British  barbarians  are  to  be 
pitied  rather  than  blamed,  but  the  topmost 
pinnacle  of  their  folly  is  reached  by  their 
treatment  of  millionaires. 

Any  level-headed  person  must  surely  know 
that  the  word  millionaire  is  nothing  but  a 
Sanscrit  expression  for  robber.  Suppose,  how- 
ever, that  our  education  had  been  so  woefully 
neglected  as  to  leave  us  ignorant  of  that  fact, 
we  should  still  have  sufficient  natural  intel- 
ligence to  see  that  a  man  could  not  possibly 
be  a  millionaire  unless  he  were  a  robber.  In 
China  this  simple  truth  is  plainly  recognized 
just  as  it  ought  to  have  been  recognized  in 
Britain.  But  the  British  are  strange  bar- 
barians, and  their  ways  are  quite  unintelligible 
to  me. 

Instead  of  instantly  clapping  their  million- 
aires into  jail,  and  squeezing  some  of  the  plunder 
out  of  them,  as  the  Chinese,  of  course,  would 
do,  these  foolish  islanders  bow  down  before 
these  criminals  and  worship  them,  and  give 
them  more  plunder  by  taking  shares  in  their 
mines  or  companies  or  "  wild-cat  "  syndicates. 
In  China  we  have  our  faults  and  our  little 
weaknesses,  but  nowhere  else  under  heaven 
can  such  a  blundering  corrupt  system  as  this 
British  one  exist.  It  is  worthy  of  being  put 
into  Chinese  comic  opera.  It  would  be  scream- 
ingly funny  if  it  were  not  so  serious  and  sad. 
If  the  amplification  of  cases  of  British  weak- 

267 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

nesses  did  not  become  wearisome,  I  could 
mention  many  more.  To  cut  them  short, 
however,  I  will  instance  only  two  others.  The 
first  of  these  is  marriage,  and  the  second  is 
the  British  stage. 

Now  marriage,  as  all  the  world  knows,  is 
nothing  but  a  miserable  attempt  to  bridle 
nature.  At  best  it  is  only  just  bearable  to 
mortal  man,  but  if  due  care  be  not  exercised 
in  the  choice  of  a  wife  that  man's  life  must 
become  an  absolute  hell.  The  Chinese,  recog- 
nizing these  risks,  have  observed  that  a  man 
who  is  in  love  is  blinded  to  the  girl's  imper- 
fections, and  is  therefore  incapable  of  making 
a  sensible  choice  for  himself.  They  know 
perfectly  well  that  if  he  is  allowed  to  choose 
his  own  bride,  mortal  man  is  bound  to  blunder 
and  ruin  not  only  the  prospects  of  his  own 
life,  but  also  the  girl's  happiness  as  well. 
Accordingly,  in  China  marriages  are  arranged 
by  a  middleman,  who  makes  everything  smooth 
between  two  families  of  suitable  standing, 
and  great  happiness  is  the  result. 

But  what  do  we  find  when  we  turn  to  these 
miserably  degraded  islands  of  the  West  ? 
The  English  barbarian  is  allowed  to  choose 
his  own  wife.  Think  of  it  !  Think  of  the  ab- 
surdity of  such  a  thing !  He  does  so,  of 
course,  and  misfortune  almost  always  results 
therefrom.  Like  a  kettle  of  water,  his  warm 
blood  bubbles  up  before  marriage  and  cools 

268 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

down  afterwards,  instead  of  warming  up  to 
boiling-pitch  after  the  contract  is  signed. 
The  result,  of  course,  is  that  the  English  bar- 
barian hurries  out  of  his  house  very  early  in 
the  morning  and  stays  in  his  office  all  day. 

When   evening   comes,  there  are  only  two 
alternatives  open  to  him — to  go  home  to  his 
scolding  wife  or  to  go  to  a  musical  play.     If 
he  chooses  the  latter  of  these  two  evils,  he  will 
see  no  play  at  all.     He  will  only  see  legs  and 
listen  to  laughter,  because  the  musical- comedy 
world  is  controlled  by  a  very  close  ring  who 
try  to  write  lyrics  from  written-out  brains,  and 
get  paid  for  doing  so  because  they  are  under 
contract.     Into  that  ring  scholarly  playwrights 
are  never  allowed  to  enter.     The  actor-mana- 
gers   can    rely    upon    the    British    marriage 
system  to  drive  men  to  the  theatre  instead  of 
trying    to    attract    the    public    by    plot    and 
music    combined.       Furthermore,     it    is    the 
fashion  for  these  barbarian  actor-managers  to 
get  their  so-called  plays  from  Vienna,  because 
that  unknown  village  once  upon  a  time  pro- 
duced a  good  play.     The  result,  of  course,  is 
that  British  musical  comedy  scribes  have  to 
get  their  work  translated  into  a  foreign  dialect 
and  then  brought  back  to  their  native  shores 
as    though    it    were    foreign    work.     By    this 
system  of  pretence  these  childlike  Britishers 
try  to  delude  themselves. 

But     so    strong    is    British    antipathy    to 
269 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

British  musical  comedy  that  if  some  such 
deception  as  the  above  were  not  practised 
the  streets  of  London  would  become  choked 
with  bodies  of  English  scribes  who  had  died 
of  sheer  starvation.  As  things  are,  about 
99  %  of  the  deaths  amongst  British  scribes  are 
due  to  the  poor  fellows  committing  suicide 
because  their  plays  are  never  even  read.  It 
is  difficult  for  China  ever  to  hope  to  enlighten 
such  a  degraded  race  of  savages. 

Lately,  however,  we  have  insisted  upon  the 
appointment  of  advisers  to  supervise  the 
British  Government  departments.  Very 
naturally  the  mandarins  who  sit  in  the  Par- 
liamentary Yamen  at  Westminster  do  not 
like  this,  and  at  first  they  strongly  resisted  ; 
but  the  negroes  and  Laplanders,  the  Red 
Indians,  the  South  Sea  Islanders  and  ourselves 
threatened  to  disturb  the  British  money 
market  if  they  failed  to  let  our  nationals 
appear  upon  their  Government  pay-rolls. 

The  Lord  High  Junk-man  was  particularly 
averse  to  receiving  any  Chinese  advice.  He 
wished  our  nominee,  Chow-Chow,  to  draw  a  big 
salary  and  do  nothing.  But  that  could  not 
be  permitted  for  one  instant,  and  Chow-Chow 
was  ultimately  appointed  to  teach  him  right 
principles. 

In  the  same  way,  the  Laplanders  have  put 
in  an  adviser  to  supervise  the  Lawyer-Financier. 
The  latter  is,  perhaps,  the  most  enlightened 

270 


THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF   THE   PICTURE 

of  all  the  British  mandarinate.  If  he  were 
not  afraid  of  losing  his  face  with  his  colleagues, 
I  believe  he  would  do  his  best  to  destroy 
British  industrialism  himself.  I  have  great 
hopes  of  him.  Not  only  is  he  a  reformer  in 
the  best  sense  of  the  word,  but  he  also  enjoys 
a  commanding  position  at  the  head  of  Britain's 
financial  board,  from  which  he  may  wield  his 
destructive  powers. 


271 


CHAPTER   XIII 

CONCLUSION 

As  we  stretch  our  gaze  across  four  thousand 
years  to  China's  distant  poUtical  horizon,  we 
see  one  huge  extending  field  furrowed  and 
refurrowed  by  countless  revolutions.  This  is 
not  altogether  surprising  when  the  vast  extent 
of  China's  territory  is  taken  into  account. 
Distant  frontiers  are  always  certain  to  contain 
disturbed  areas,  and  when  the  lack  of  a 
standing  army  prevents  a  weak  government 
from  nipping  sedition  in  the  bud,  revolutions 
soon  spread. 

Thinking  people  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  only  ideal  form  of  government  for 
any  country  is  that  of  a  benevolent  despot. 
But  for  an  Oriental  country  despotism  is  more 
essential  still,  particularly  when  that  country 
is  a  huge  backward  confederation  of  provinces 
unconnected  by  railway- lines. 

The  railway  and  the  telegraph  are  the  only 
two  forces  which  can  make  China  become 
smaller  and  easier  to  handle.  For  that  reason, 
it  seems  well  nigh  impossible  for  a  republican 

272 


CONCLUSION 

government  to  rule  China  for  any  long  period 
of  time. 

The  railway  is  just  as  much  the  enemy  of 
revolutions  as  education  is  the  enemy  of 
despotic  kings,  and  a  good  republican  form 
of  government  is  only  possible  where  educa- 
tion has  spread  so  thoroughly  through  the 
masses  that  the  man  in  the  street  is  as  capable 
of  taking  the  President's  chair  as  the  President 
is  capable  of  becoming  a  private  citizen.  If 
this  high  state  of  enlightenment  has  not  been 
reached,  a  republic  is  always  bound  to  be 
torn  by  revolutions.  As  we  watch  the  pendu- 
lum swing  from  the  extreme  of  autocratic 
to  the  extreme  of  democratic  rule,  we  observe 
the  effect  of  education. 

At  first  we  see  tribes  warring  amongst 
themselves.  The  man  with  the  strong  spear 
and  stout  buckler  makes  himself  king.  He 
retains  his  position  of  authority  for  so  long  a 
time  as  his  followers  are  numerous  and  his 
weapons  keen.  For  many  generations  his 
descendants  are  compelled  to  rely  solely  upon 
their  fighting  strength  to  retain  the  crown  ; 
but  in  course  of  time  they  begin  to  enjoy  a 
prestige  which  invests  them  with  a  veneration 
from  the  mob  which  no  new  upstart  can  inspire, 
and  which  is  only  possible  in  the  early  stage 
of  a  country  before  education  obtains  a  good 
foothold. 

As  education  spreads  a  network  of  railways 
T  273 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

and  commercial  interests  over  the  land,  Jack 
becomes  as  good  as  his  master.  Then  the 
king  is  either  swept  away  or  he  is  permitted 
to  remain  as  an  honourable  figure-head,  but 
only  by  reason  of  popular  complacency. 

Nowadays  the  force  of  arms  or  the  force 
of  popular  complacency  are  the  only  two  forces 
which  can  protect  a  throne  from  educational 
gunpowder  as  peoples  become  churned  up 
from  small  warring  tribes  into  big  industrial 
nations.  As  we  look  round  the  world,  we 
observe  republics  in  America,  France,  Mexico, 
and  various  South  American  States.  We  ob- 
serve monarchies,  or  so-called  monarchies,  in 
England,  Germany,  and  Russia. 

But  of  these  countries  Russia  is  moving 
rapidly  towards  revolution.  The  throne  is 
only  supported  by  constantly  strengthening 
the  powers  of  the  secret  police,  and  by  spend- 
ing nine  times  as  much  money  upon  repressive 
machinery  as  is  expended  upon  popular  educa- 
tion. 

Germany  clothes  its  constitutional  monarchy 
in  the  domino  of  a  benevolent  despotism,  but 
its  Emperor  dares  not  go  too  far,  or  he  would 
be  given  short  shrift.  Great  Britain  happens 
to  have  retained  a  king  because  the  power 
of  prestige  and  the  power  of  popular  com- 
placency have  willed  it  so,  but  Great  Britain's 
Government  would  run  along  almost  as 
smoothly  if  it  chose  to  call  itself  a  republic. 

274 


CONCLUSION 

America  might  just  as  easily  have  been 
ruled  by  a  limited  monarchy  on  the  British 
lines,  and  it  would  have  been  ruled  in  this 
way  if  some  members  of  the  English  Royal 
Family  had  only  crossed  over  in  the  May- 
flower. The  force  of  prestige  would  have 
settled  that  point,  we  may  be  sure.  In  the 
same  way,  if  every  member  of  the  British 
Royal  Family  were  to  die  off  to-morrow,  is  it 
conceivable  that  Mr.  Redmond  or  Mr.  Lloyd 
George  could  be  proclaimed  king  ?  The  idea 
is  unthinkable,  because  every  man  in  the  street 
feels  himself  quite  as  well  educated  and  quite 
as  capable  of  ruling  the  land  as  these  two 
gentlemen  would  be. 

France  is  a  republic,  because  two  dynasties 
would  claim  the  throne,  and  the  French  are 
too  highly  educated  to  have  any  faith  in 
either  of  them.  As  regards  Mexico  and  the 
South  American  States,  we  see  exactly  the 
revolutions  which  any  sensible  man  is  bound 
to  foresee. 

Now  anybody  who  has  studied  the  psycho- 
logy of  crowds  knows  that  a  crowd  is  always 
comparatively  stupid,  because  its  opinion  is 
that  of  its  most  numerous  members.  It  can 
also  be  ruled  only  in  three  ways — by  force, 
by  deception,  or  by  satisfying  its  greedy 
passions.  Every  politician  has  recognized  this 
fact  since  the  world  began,  and  when  force 
was    impracticable    most    of    them    have    at- 

275 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

tempted  to  remain  in  power  by  frankly  de- 
ceiving the  people.  This  was  easy  enough 
until  education  began  to  spread,  but  now  that 
Jack  has  become  as  good  as  his  master  it  is 
no  longer  so  easy  to  deceive  the  people. 

Accordingly,    politicians    in    England    and 
America  have  been  compelled  to  resort  to  the 
third  method — the  system  of  trying  to  satisfy 
the  mob's  greedy  appetites.     The  result  has 
been  a  fall  for  the  politician  in  the  opinion  of 
decent  men,  and,  furthermore.  Parliament  has 
ceased   to   be    so   closely  in   touch   with   the 
nation    as    it    was.     People    busy    themselves 
nowadays  with  that  which  affects  them  more 
nearly    than    political    parties    or    schemers. 
They   busy   themselves   with   the    making   of 
pounds   or  dollars.     They  let  the   politicians 
scream  and    yell  and  play    their    tricks,  but 
they  pay  no  great  attention  until  those  gentle- 
men go  too  far.     Then  the  busy  dollar-makers 
sweep    them    away    and    give     some     other 
political   party  a  chance  to  wield  patronage 
and  power. 

Rule  of  this  sort  is  possible  in  a  highly-edu- 
cated state  like  France,  England,  or  America, 
because  railways,  industrialism  and  the  money 
market  make  revolutions  out  of  the  question, 
and  because  individualism  is  steadily  losing 
ground  before  the  federating  influences  of 
interwoven  interests.  But  when  all  the  out- 
ward forms  of  this   sort  of    government  are 

276 


CONCLUSION 

suddenly  harnessed  upon  a  semi-barbaric 
Oriental  nation  like  the  Chinese,  great  abuses 
of  power  must  result. 

At  best  a  constitutional  President  is  never 
in  a  strong  position,  because  his  whole  position 
depends  upon  the  vote  of  the  mob — that  is 
to  say,  his  power  depends  upon  either  deceiving 
or  appeasing  the  mob.  If  he  does  not  do 
one  of  these  things,  he  is  forced  to  be  uncon- 
stitutional or  to  lose  his  position.  So  what 
is  the  poor  man  to  do  ?  Yuan  Shih  Kai  has 
done  exactly  what  Cromwell  would  have  done 
under  similar  conditions.  He  has  followed 
the  line  of  his  own  convictions  without  burden- 
ing his  mind  unduly  with  conscientious 
scruples.  He  has  at  times  been  frankly  un- 
constitutional. To  such  a  point  did  he  go 
that  the  Anti-Yuan  Revolution  was  raised 
against  him  in  July  1913.  This  can  have 
caused  nobody  surprise.  It  certainly  did  not 
surprise  the  President  himself,  because  he  had 
already  begun  putting  military  officers  in 
charge  of  certain  unfriendly  southern  provinces 
before  that  rebellion  broke  out  at  all. 

In  any  case,  trouble  of  some  sort  was  almost 
bound  to  come,  because  only  a  very  strong 
hand  could  evolve  order  out  of  the  chaotic 
China  we  now  behold,  and  the  southern 
revolutionaries  were  not  the  kind  of  men  who 
wished  to  be  ruled  with  a  strong  hand.  They 
and  their  forefathers  had  been  scheming  for 

277 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

two  hundred  years  against  the  Manchu  throne. 
They  had  formed  secret  societies.  They  had 
acquired  the  habit  of  plotting  against  au- 
thority ;  and  when  at  last  a  lucky  shot  fired 
by  students  in  Japan  finally  blew  the  Ching 
Dynasty  to  atoms,  they  could  not  all  be 
treated  as  lavishly  as  they  thought  was  their 
due.  Accordingly,  those  of  them  whose  appe- 
tites could  not  be  appeased  went  back  to 
their  old  habits  and  began  plotting  again. 

The  world  will  probably  never  know  how 
far  Japan  was  mixed  up  in  that  Anti-Yuan 
Revolution.  Tokio,  of  course,  denied  that 
the  Japanese  had  any  hand  in  it  at  all,  but 
this  much  we  know :  Japan  has  no  great 
interest  in  seeing  a  strong  China  at  her  doors. 
She  would  much  rather  see  Chinese  waters 
troubled,  in  order  that  she  may  consolidate 
her  position  in  Manchuria,  and  do  a  little 
independent  fishing  in  revolutionary  waves. 
For  this  reason  there  was  a  likelihood  of 
Japanese  sympathies  being  much  more  anti- 
than  pro-Yuan.  At  the  same  time,  most  of 
the  Chinese  students  who  had  gone  to  Japan 
were  men  from  the  central  or  southern  pro- 
vinces. 

When  hostilities  broke  out,  the  Japanese 
Press  with  one  acclaim  reflected  their  national 
sentiment  in  espousing  the  southern  cause, 
and  only  when  the  Chinese  Government's 
soldiers   proved  conclusively  which   side  was 

278 


CONCLUSION 

going  to  win  did  the  Japanese  change  their 
tone.  But  the  northerners  had  meanwhile 
become  aware  of  Japan's  feehng  against  them. 
They  also  had  reason  to  believe  that  some  of 
her  sons  were  helping  their  southern  foes. 
Accordingly,  in  their  turn,  they  became  very 
bitter  against  the  Mikado's  subjects,  and  had 
no  scruples  about  killing  three  of  their  number, 
when  the  sacking  of  Nanking  City  gave  them 
the  opportunity.  If  the  British  Government 
had  not  been  so  discouraging,  Japan  would 
probably  have  gone  to  war  over  this  incident, 
or,  at  any  rate,  would  have  seized  a  second 
Kiaochow,  as  Germany  had  done  before.  But 
Great  Britain  gave  Tokio  clearly  to  under- 
stand that  war  with  China  could  not  be  viewed 
with  equanimity. 

Accordingly,  Japan  contented  herself  with 
a  demand  for  a  public  apology  and  for  General 
Chang  Hsun's  dismissal  from  the  Tutuhship  of 
Kiangsu.  This  request  placed  the  Chinese 
Government  on  the  horns  of  a  big  dilemma. 
If  Chang  Hsun  were  summarily  dismissed  from 
his  Governorship,  he  might  turn  revolutionary, 
seeing  that  his  appointment  to  that  post 
had  been  the  price  of  his  original  loyalty. 
Japan,  therefore,  had  to  be  approached  and 
the  matter  smoothed  over  as  well  as  could 
be  arranged. 

One  or  two  critics  have  decided  that  the 
Anti-Yuan  War  was  not  carried  on  between 

279 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

northern  and  southern  Chinese.  In  some 
respects,  they  are  correct  in  their  contention, 
but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  no  real  cohesion 
exists  between  the  Chinese  of  north  and 
south.  They  are  as  unhke  in  their  ideals  as 
they  are  unlike  in  their  languages.  The  men 
from  the  south  are,  generally  speaking,  the 
more  enlightened,  because  they  have  had  a 
longer  intercourse  with  Anglo-Chinese  ideas 
from  Hongkong  and  the  treaty  ports. 

Under  the  Republican  regime  these  south- 
erners have,  therefore,  made  a  bigger  showing, 
but  the  north  has  no  more  desire  to  be  ruled 
by  southern  provincials  than  the  latter  desire 
to  be  ruled  by  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  As  a  conse- 
quence, ceaseless  friction  has  been  apparent 
between  certain  sections  of  the  Parliamentary 
delegates  and  the  President,  and  a  dreadful 
system  of  sudden  arrest  and  execution  has 
been  practised  throughout  the  land.  Pro- 
minent men  have  been  invited  to  dine  with 
unknown  enemies,  who  have  whipped  them 
ojff  to  eternity  without  any  semblance  of  a 
trial.  This  appallingly  wicked  state  of  affairs 
recalls  the  blackest  days  of  the  Netherlands 
under  Spanish  Burgundian  rule.  No  pro- 
minent Chinese  can  feel  safe  for  a  minute 
when  his  enemy  gets  into  power. 

Perhaps  the  most  glaring  case  of  all  has 
been  that  of  Chan  King  Wah,  the  Chief  of 
Police  at  Canton.     He  and  his  brother  were 

280 


CONCLUSION 

invited  to  dine  with  the  Governor  in  the 
Official  Yamen  of  that  city.  Upon  arrival 
Chan  King  Wah  found  that  he  had  been  privi- 
leged to  dine  at  the  Governor's  private  table 
upstairs,  whilst  his  brother  was  to  dine  with 
the  less  important  guests  in  the  room  below. 

In  the  middle  of  dinner  certain  military 
officers  entered  and  surrounded  Chan  King 
Wah.  The  Governor  requested  him  to  allow 
himself  to  be  relieved  of  a  pistol  he  carried, 
and  after  he  had  complied  politely  produced 
a  telegram  from  Peking  ordering  his  im- 
mediate execution  for  supposed  revolutionary 
leanings.  The  man  turned  pale,  but  showed 
no  other  signs  of  fear.  He  asked,  however, 
for  a  glass  of  brandy,  which  His  Excellency 
himself  handed  to  him,  and  then  a  shot  rang 
out.  Without  trial,  without  any  semblance 
of  a  trial,  this  excellent  police  officer,  who  was 
well  known  for  his  high  qualities  to  many  of 
the  British  officials  in  Hongkong,  was  sent  to 
his  last  long  sleep.  That  shot  was  the  signal 
for  the  brother's  murder  in  the  room  down- 
stairs. On  that  crime  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment stands  arraigned. 

Not  only  has  this  double  murder  added  to 
the  number  of  similar  trial-less  executions  which 
have  disgraced  the  records  of  Young  China, 
but  it  gives  the  outside  world  just  one  more 
proof  that  China  has  changed  very  little  since 
she  tried  to  murder  the  foreign  Ambassadors 

281 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

in  the  summer  of  1900.  And  yet  China  has 
changed  greatly  in  the  last  few  years,  although 
her  heart  may  be  as  callous  of  the  value  of 
human  life  as  of  yore.  But  that  is  only  to  be 
expected  if  we  think  the  matter  out. 

No  human  being  is  good  or  virtuous  from 
any  other  cause  except  fear  of  punishment. 
The  punishment  may  take  the  lighter  form  of 
public  disapprobation,  but  it  remains  punish- 
ment just  the  same.  We  are,  most  of  us, 
respectable  citizens  for  no  other  reason  except 
that  we  have  a  sufficiency  of  this  world's  goods 
to  live  on,  and  because  the  policeman  at  the 
street  corner  reminds  us  not  to  steal  the  silver 
tea-spoons  from  the  man  who  lives  next  door. 

This  has  been  illustrated  by  a  lunatic  breaking 
a  jeweller's  shop-window  and  throwing  trinkets 
of  value  to  the  crowd.  There  was  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  crowd  was  a  particularly 
criminal  one,  or  that  it  was  particularly 
acquisitive,  and  yet  very  few  of  those  trinkets, 
so  gratuitously  given,  were  returned  to  the 
rightful  owner. 

We  may  take  it,  therefore,  that  virtue  in 
ourselves  is  due  to  a  sufficiency  of  this  world's 
goods,  as  well  as  to  the  flat-footed  policeman 
who  stands  at  the  street  corner.  In  course  of 
time,  other  minor  steadying  influences  grow 
up  and  tend  to  keep  us  in  the  right  way.  We 
know  our  fathers  were  honourable  men,  and 
we  try  to  live  up  to  the  standard  which  the 

282 


CONCLUSION 

policemen    of    their    day    forced    upon    them 
too. 

Accordingly,  in  time  crime  becomes  scarcer 
in  places  like  London,  where  good  policemen 
are  to  be  found,  and  murders  become  so  rare 
as  to  give  us  a  shock  when  one  is  heard  of.  If 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  were  able  to  chop  off  our 
heads  as  easily  as  he  can  lop  off  our  incomes, 
we  should  experience  no  shock  at  hearing  of 
a  life  gone,  and  we  should  become  as  callous 
of  the  value  of  human  life  as  the  Chinese  are 
to-day.  China,  in  many  respects,  seems  to  be 
in  the  state  England  was  in  between  the 
years  1640  and  1660.  We  see  monopolies 
being  farmed  out  by  the  Government  to 
various  persons.  We  see  an  Oriental  Crom- 
well acting  independently  of  a  factious  stu- 
dent's "  rump." 

The  Chinese  nation  has  borrowed  its  polity 
from  the  twentieth  century  ;  it  has  borrowed 
its  politicians  from  the  dark  Middle  Ages. 
Its  manners  are  those  of  the  drawing-room ; 
its  men  are  boys  from  the  schoolroom.  There 
is  no  need  for  us  to  despair.  China  is 
evolving  a  bright  industrial  future  out  of  a 
dull  revolutionary  present.  But  we  are  apt 
to  regard  the  sinister  aspect  of  the  sack  of 
Nanking  and  such-like  blunders  a  little  too 
seriously  perhaps.  We  are  apt  to  weigh 
Oriental  shortcomings  in  the  balance  of  wes- 
tern   standards.     We    know   that   those    who 

283 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

would  throw  down  their  arms  were  offered 
their  lives  by  Chang  Hsun  and  his  brave 
Government  soldiers.  We  also  know  that 
those  men's  lives  were  instantly  taken  as 
soon  as  their  arms  were  thrown  down. 

But  that  was  not  all,  for  every  Chinese 
woman  in  the  city — old  or  young,  rich  or  poor, 
beautiful  or  plain — was  ravished  by  those 
brave  Government  soldiers  who  came  so 
quietly  in.  The  city  was  not  taken  by  fierce 
assault,  or  their  conduct  might  have  been 
condoned. 

We  are  naturally  disgusted  by  such  a  dis-' 
graceful  picture,  but  we  forget  the  massacre 
of  Glencoe  and  the  storming  of  Spanish  towns. 
There  is,  therefore,  no  need  for  us  to  despair. 
China  will  become  civilized  in  time,  but  that 
time  has  not  yet  arrived.  In  the  early  portion 
of  this  chapter  we  have  looked  at  the  Chinese 
republican  form  of  government  from  the 
purely  educational  point  of  view.  But  ob- 
jections to  it  might  also  be  urged  on  other 
grounds  besides. 

A  republic  is  suitable  for  a  united  nation 
which  is  very  well  educated  and  consequently 
democratic.  But  is  it  suited  to  Asia  ?  And 
can  it  be  suitable  to  a  nation  composed  of  two 
main  nations — northerners  and  southerners 
— as  well  as  four  subsidiary  nations — Mongols, 
Thibetans,  Mahometans,  and  Manchus  ?  From 
an  Asiatic  point  of  view,  would  a  republican 

284 


CONCLUSION 

form  of  government  suit  any  other  eastern 
race  ?  Would  it  suit  Japan,  or  India,  or 
Persia  ? 

It  certainly  would  not  suit  Japan,  although 
Japan  is  the  most  westernly  of  eastern  nations. 
The  Japanese  are  too  military  and  too  aristo- 
cratic in  their  national  ideals.  They  have  the 
aristocratic  inequalities  of  their  mountains,  not 
the  democratic  equality  of  the  plains.  Their 
statesmen  are,  so  to  speak,  on  their  best 
behaviour  before  their  Emperor,  and  their 
Government  is  distinctly  a  paternal  one. 
They  prevent  their  humble  folk  from  betting 
at  race-meetings,  not  by  passing  anti-betting 
laws,  but  by  abolishing  race-courses  alto- 
gether. They  also  interfere  with  private  enter- 
prise by  limiting  the  number  of  cinema 
companies  which  are  permitted  to  attract  the 
public.  The  Chinese  are  certainly  more  demo- 
cratic in  many  of  their  ways.  They  have  no 
military  or  aristocratic  inequalities,  but  their 
Government  also  is  a  paternal  one. 

A  republic,  again,  would  not  be  suitable 
for  India  or  Persia,  because  of  caste  inequalities 
and  because  of  racial  diversities.  Moreover, 
India  is  one  of  the  most  aristocratic  countries 
in  the  world.  Furthermore,  Oriental  cunning 
and  corruption  obtain  a  much  bigger  field 
for  operation  where  a  people  rules  itself. 

Oriental  nations  are,  in  most  cases,  frankly 
dishonest  in  official  life ;   or  it   may  be  that 

285 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

they  are  more  honest  about  their  dishonesty 
than  we  are  in  western  lands.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  a  repubHcan  form  of  government 
will  prove  very  expensive  to  China.  Nothing 
short  of  half  a  century's  strict  diet  of  honest 
officialdom  and  good  administration  can  eradi- 
cate China's  present  official  weaknesses.  That 
education  can  only  come  about  in  one 
way — by  joint  Chino-foreign  control  made 
possible  by  bankruptcy.  At  present  China's 
finances  are  in  so  shaky  a  condition  that 
bankruptcy  is  bound  to  come. 

The  country  is  arriving  at  the  second  stage 
of  development  which  overtakes  every  big 
concern  in  China — bankruptcy  followed  by 
foreign  control.  Just  as  this  stage  was  entered 
and  passed  by  the  Chinese  Engineering  and 
Mining  Company,  so  it  is  being  entered  and 
will  be  passed  by  China  as  a  whole.  Upon  the 
form  that  foreign  control  is  going  to  take  the 
measure  of  China's  rosy  future  greatly  depends. 
That  a  rosy  future  of  some  sort  is  in  store  for 
the  country  we  need  not  doubt,  but  its  degree 
cannot  be  estimated  with  any  accuracy  at 
present. 

Probably  the  control  above-mentioned  will 
be  an  extension  of  the  departmental  super- 
vision, which  has  been  forced  upon  Chinese 
officials  by  foreign  Powers  and  the  necessity 
for  money.  But  the  failure  of  the  Group 
financiers  to  trammel  these  mandarins  into  a 

286 


CONCLUSION 

thrifty  policy  by  loan  conditions  considered 
profitable  to  the  West  as  well  as  salutary  for 
China,  has  already  become  perfectly  obvious. 
China  refused  to  be  coerced,  and  preferred  to 
face  bankruptcy  instead.  While  the  five 
Powers  squabbled  and  made  their  binding 
conditions,  they  made  profitable  opportunities 
for  Belgium  by  preventing  their  own  nationals 
from  making  independent  loans.  To  Great 
Britain  and  to  Germany  this  restriction 
mattered  most,  because  France  is  known  to 
be  participating  in  the  Belgian  success, 
whilst  Russia  is  suspected  of  being  interested 
therein  to  some  extent  or  other. 

In  the  chapter  on  railways  we  saw  how  the 
Manchus  refused  to  save  their  tottering  throne 
by  hypothecating  the  Peking-Kalgan  Railway. 
They  refused  to  be  bought  over  as  resolutely  as 
they  refused  to  be  terrorized.  They  preferred 
to  fall.  And  they  fell.  Aye  !  and  what  a 
picture  must  have  presented  itself  to  the 
spectres  of  those  barbaric  Manchu  princes  if 
they  chanced  to  look  back  over  their  shoulders 
as  they  sped  through  obscurity  to  oblivion ! 
Within  two  months  of  their  abdication,  within 
two  months  of  their  proud  dynasty's  fall, 
their  conquerors,  the  immaculate  Republicans, 
who  were  so  full  of  patriotism  and  integrity, 
had  bartered  away  China's  sacred  trust  and 
had  broken  asunder  traditions  for  which 
corrupt  princes  had  courted   martyrdom  and 

287 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

ruin.  But  that  was  not  all.  Within  two  years 
of  their  abdication,  within  two  years  of  their 
proud  dynasty's  fall,  these  same  immaculate 
Republicans  have  handed  over  to  the  Belgians 
— a  nation  suspected,  rightly  or  wrongly,  of 
being  in  sympathy  with  Russian  interests — 
those  very  same  railways  which  Russia  had 
striven  so  earnestly  but  so  vainly  to  obtain. 
The  picture  is  not  a  pleasant  one.  It  calls 
for  some  united  action  upon  the  part  of 
England,  Germany  and  America. 

We  will  now  consider  a  scheme  which  would 
be  beneficial  to  China's  industrial  future,  and 
which  would  be  possible  if  England,  Germany 
and  America  chose  to  draw  somewhat  closer 
together.  We  have  seen  that  China  is  rushing 
towards  bankruptcy  and  foreign  control.  That 
foreign  control  will  probably  take  the  form  of 
an  extension  of  the  present  haphazard  appoint- 
ment of  advisers  to  Chinese  administrative 
departments,  and  the  strengthening  of  various 
nations'  interests  in  provinces  like  Shantung, 
Mongolia,  and  Manchuria.  The  Chinese  have 
always  been  a  subject  race,  and  they  are 
quite  incapable  of  spontaneously  eradicating 
their  own  corrupt  weaknesses.  They  really 
require  a  joint  Chino-foreign  government  to 
rule  the  land,  if  they  are  to  enjoy  the  full 
benefit  of  a  splendid  industrial  future. 

This  result  can  only  be  properly  obtained 
by  the  three  great  trading  Powers — Germany, 

288 


CONCLUSION 

Britain  and  America — withstanding  the  under- 
mining influences  of  the  disintegrating  Powers, 
Russia  and  France,  which  achieve  results 
through  a  smaller  commercial  people.  The 
time  has  gone  by  when  individualism  can  pay. 
Instead  we  see  a  general  grouping  of  interests 
amongst  people  as  amongst  nations.  In- 
dividual action  is  being  beaten  by  group 
action  all  the  world  over. 

If  Germany,  America  and  Great  Britain 
were  to  come  together,  they  would  form  the 
hegemony  of  the  Chinese  world.  They  could 
insist  upon  united  action  between  the  Powers, 
both  as  regards  the  appointment  of  a  ruling 
council  and  upon  the  appointment  of  good 
foreign  officials,  irrespective  of  nationality. 
They  could  furnish  development  loans  at  less 
usurious  rates  than  independent  financiers 
can  do  under  the  present  competitive  system, 
and  they  would  prevent  China  becoming  the 
commercial  and  diplomatic  cock-pit  of  the 
world.  A  great  opportunity  lies  before  these 
three  nations  if  they  only  possess  men  of  big 
enough  minds  to  take  definite  action. 

Probably  America  is  in  the  best  position  for 
making  such  a  beginning,  but  the  Monroe 
doctrine  stands  in  the  way.  From  a  British 
standpoint  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  United 
States  should  desire  to  keep  Germany  from 
colonizing  Brazil.  The  German  race  is  a 
clean,  industrious  one,  which  would  greatly 
u  289 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

improve  the  present  half-Spanish  BraziUan 
stock.  The  Americans  themselves  can  have 
no  thought  of  colonizing  such  a  "  melting- 
pot  "  colony,  and  Brazil  is  too  far  from  the 
Panama  Canal  to  threaten  American  interests 
in  that  direction. 

At  present  America's  attitude  seems  to  be 
one  of  non-interference  with  China,  but  surely 
that  policy  is  a  little  near-sighted  when  China 
is  herself  inviting  interference  through  bank- 
ruptcy ?  True  friendship  for  China's  interests 
can  no  longer  be  shown  by  standing  aloof. 
The  only  way  is  to  insist  upon  united  action 
amongst  the  big  commercial  and  administra- 
tive nations  in  securing  a  strong  and  un- 
corrupt  form  of  government  at  Peking.  This 
form  of  government  ought,  as  a  temporary 
measure,  to  be  on  the  lines  of  the  India 
Council — half  a  Chinese  and  half  a  foreign 
affair.  In  exactly  the  same  way  that  a  bank- 
rupt estate  is  administered,  the  Chinese  Empire 
ought  to  be  taken  in  hand.  After  about 
fifty  years  of  uncorrupt  officialdom  and  con- 
sequent prosperity,  the  Chinese  nation  might 
be  sufficiently  enlightened  to  administer  her 
own  affairs,  and  then  there  would  be  no 
objection  to  the  trust  being  handed  back. 

But  if  some  definite  action  be  not  taken 
soon,  not  only  will  Chinese  prosperity  become 
warped,  but  there  is  danger  of  constant 
friction  arising  amongst  the  predatory  foreign 

290 


CONCLUSION 

peoples  who  go  to  live  or  trade  in  the  wonder- 
ful land  of  Han. 

Only  under  some  such  system  as  the  writer 
has  sketched  out  can  China  cease  to  be  under- 
mined. If  it  is  not  carried  out,  Chino-foreign 
control  will  assume  a  more  private,  less 
centralized  form.  There  will  still  be  a  rosy 
future  in  an  industrial  sense,  but  individuals 
and  groups  will  profit  to  a  greater  extent  than 
the  Chinese  nation  as  a  whole. 

As  foreign  gold  pours  into  the  country, 
railways  and  mines  will  be  opened  up.  In 
fifty  years'  time  men  now  unborn  will  be 
marking  out  streets  and  planting  trees  in 
industrial  towns  now  also  unborn.  No  longer 
will  the  village  dogs  cry  for  company  as  they 
hearken  to  numberless  frogs  which  croak  in  the 
lonely  places.  No  longer  will  the  still,  quiet 
stars  look  down  year  after  year  upon  corpses 
of  men  who  surged  up  in  ceaseless  revolt. 
The  big  square  lateen  sails  of  the  junk  which 
we  see  silhouetted  against  the  sunset  will 
have  passed  down  the  river  of  forgetfulness 
with  the  clumsy  craft  they  drive.  The  rattle 
of  the  coal-truck,  the  lights  from  fast  passenger 
carriages,  will  disturb  the  most  peaceful  ham- 
lets, instead  of  the  watchman's  voice.  Chimney- 
stacks,  tall,  black  and  ugly,  will  stand  where 
the  quaintest  architecture  of  a  mediaeval 
nation  once  set  its  seal  upon  landscape  fit 
only  for  the  fairy-tale. 

291 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

A  great  change  is  coming  over  the  land,  in 
spite  of  what  prophets  say.  The  China  of 
to-morrow  will  not  be  the  China  of  to-day.  It 
will  be  an  infinitely  less  poetic  place,  but  it 
will  be  a  far  more  industrial  one.  The  coloured 
dresses  of  its  stately  mandarins  are  passing 
away  with  the  power  of  the  "  feng-shui  "  or 
astrologer.  The  splendour  of  yellow-roofed 
palaces  will  become  just  as  much  of  a  fable 
as  the  field  of  the  cloth  of  gold.  The  intrigue 
of  eunuchs,  the  chatter  of  concubines,  the 
quaking  hearts  in  beleaguered,  walled  cities, 
the  murder  at  the  dinner-table — all  these 
things  will  have  disappeared  along  time's 
stone  road  in  the  chair  which  is  carried 
by  coolies.  Sanitary  dwellings  will  have  dis- 
pelled the  subtle  influences  of  picturesqueness 
and  dirt.  The  gathering  of  taxes  will  have 
assumed  a  workable  shape.  The  men  who 
now  think  only  of  making  sons  and  making 
cents  will  have  relinquished  their  petty  agri- 
cultural profits  for  employment  in  the  engine- 
house,  the  sorting-room,  or  on  the  busy  quay. 

Railways  and  mines  are  bringing  these 
changes  to  pass,  not  only  in  China,  but  in 
other  parts  of  Asia  as  well.  The  railway  is 
the  great  peace-maker  of  the  world,  though 
its  rattle  disturbs  our  peace  of  mind.  In  the 
north-west  frontier  province  of  India  we 
observe  precisely  the  same  effect  which  we 
prophesy  for  coming  China.     Intertribal  feuds 

292 


CONCLUSION 

between  Pathans,  which  only  ceased  for  a 
few  short  weeks  at  seed-time  and  harvest, 
are  now  becoming  much  less  common.  The 
tower  and  the  good  rifle  are  no  longer  so 
necessary  as  they  were  for  preserving  the 
spark  of  life.  A  war  on  the  Indian  frontier 
does  not  disturb  Parliament  and  Indian  Civil 
Servants  every  two  years  in  the  way  it  used 
to  do.  No,  the  railway  has  changed  all  that, 
and  such  changes  are  bound  to  come. 

Apart  from  changes  incidental  to  railway 
development,  a  host  of  minor  reforms  must  be 
brought  about  before  long.  Amongst  others 
we  might  mention  a  reorganization  of  the 
military  and  naval  forces,  the  institution  of  a 
respectable  police  force,  with  a  proper  sense 
of  its  true  duties,  the  reform  of  the  currency, 
the  institution  of  land  banks,  and  a  host  of 
other  reforms.  At  present  China  has  not 
undertaken  any  scientific  farming,  but  as  the 
Chinese  are  essentially  an  agricultural  people, 
that  stage  will  soon  be  reached. 

As  regards  aid  given  to  the  farmer,  it  is 
interesting  to  look  at  results  vv^hich  are  now 
being  achieved  in  two  other  comparatively 
new  countries.  These  countries  are  South 
Africa  and  Japan.  The  South  African  Union 
is  spending  more  per  head  of  European  popu- 
lation than  any  other  country  in  the  world. 
Its  aid  consists  of  (1)  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  (2)  the  Land  Bank,  and  (3)  the 

293 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Land  Settlement  Act  of  1912.  The  Union 
Department  covers  practically  the  whole  field 
of  rural  activity,  and  assists  the  settler  by  its 
advice  to  make  the  most  of  his  land,  whilst 
the  bank  lends  money  to  the  farmer  in  grants 
from  £50  to  £2,000. 

In  Japan  we  see  not  only  the  co-operative 
credit  societies,  which  are  formed  under  a 
law  passed  in  1900,  but  also  the  Mortgage 
Bank  of  Japan  and  the  so-called  agricultural 
and  industrial  banks.  Of  these  banks  the 
former  carries  on  business  all  over  the  country, 
and  the  loans  which  it  makes  are  usually 
large.  The  latter  confine  their  operations  to 
a  simple  prefecture  and  make  loans  of  small 
amount. 

The  Mortgage  Bank  of  Japan  was  founded 
in  1896,  and  began  operations  the  following 
year,  with  a  capital  of  10,000,000  yen,  of  which 
2,500,000  yen  was  paid  up.  The  bank  is 
empowered  to  make  loans  on  the  security  of 
real  property,  or,  in  the  case  of  municipal 
bodies  and  certain  classes  of  society,  without 
security.  The  agricultural  and  industrial 
banks  were  created  under  a  law  passed  in 
1896.  There  are  now  forty-six  such  banks 
in  Japan,  each  with  a  capital  of  300,000  yen 
or  upwards.  They  make  loans  principally 
on  the  security  of  real  property,  but  they  also 
lend  money  without  security  to  municipal 
bodies  and  societies,   and  on  personal  credit 

294 


CONCLUSION 

to  groups  of  twenty  or  more  persons  with 
joint  liability. 

To  aid  in  financing  the  agricultural  and 
industrial  banks,  the  sum  of  10,000,000  yen 
was  appropriated  by  the  Government  for 
distribution  amongst  the  prefectures.  Had 
this  been  done  by  the  Chinese  Government, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  the  first  official  to 
touch  the  money  would  have  obtained  more 
benefit  from  it  than  all  the  farmers  in  China 
put  together.  In  other  words,  he  would  have 
pocketed  it. 

Official  peculation  has  gone  to  such  lengths 
in  China  that  the  Government  is  utterly 
destitute  of  credit  with  the  common  people. 
For  this  reason  it  has  been  found  impossible 
to  float  a  patriotic  or  internal  loan.  They 
have  no  belief  in  their  officials'  honesty,  and 
consequently  they  are  never  prepared  to  lend. 
And  yet  credit  is  most  necessary  to  the  Chinese 
Government  at  the  present  time,  for  without 
credit  it  is  almost  impossible  to  embark  upon 
any  big  undertakings.  A  great  part  of 
American  and  German  prosperity  is  entirely 
due  to  credit. 

In  England  the  power  of  credit  is  exhibited 
in  myriads  of  little  ways.  Take  the  £5  note, 
for  instance — its  value  entirely  depends  upon 
belief  in  its  exchangeable  value,  not  in  its 
intrinsic  value.  Every  person  who  accepts  it 
believes  that  five  golden  sovereigns  are  waiting 

295 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

to  be  exchanged  for  it  at  the  bank.  Yet  if 
the  people's  belief  were  shaken  through  being 
swindled  by  Government  or  by  the  Bank  of 
England,  the  whole  fabric  of  British  credit 
would  go  by  the  board.  China's  financial 
power  is  weak,  because  she  has  no  borrowing- 
power  in  her  own  broad  territories,  and 
consequently  she  is  dependent  upon  foreigners 
from  without  to  supply  her  with  ready  money. 

Another  of  China's  difficulties  at  the  present 
juncture  is  due  to  her  politicians  being  un- 
accustomed to  the  role  of  ruling.  They  have 
gobbled  up  the  theory  of  party  government 
without  digesting  it,  and  they  have  not, 
apparently,  seen  that  when  a  nation  is  recover- 
ing from  revolution,  united,  not  disunited, 
action  is  required  to  put  things  straight. 
Party  government  may  have  its  uses,  but  in 
times  of  crisis  parties  have  to  make  a  united 
front. 

In  the  Chinese  Parliament,  however,  not 
only  has  there  been  no  united  front,  but 
there  have  been  countless  little  parties,  all 
more  or  less  at  loggerheads  with  one  another, 
and  all  more  or  less  difficult  for  the  President 
to  handle.  In  consequence,  we  have  seen 
no  less  than  four  Cabinet  changes  within  the 
first  twenty  months  of  the  Chinese  Republic's 
life.  The  latest  is  that  under  Hsiung  Hsi 
Ling.  He  himself  is  able  enough,  but  most 
of  his  followers  are  either  southern-born   or 

296 


CONCLUSION 

men  who  have  been  educated  under  southern 
influences.  Is  it  reasonable  to  expect  that 
their  retention  of  office  will  be  for  any  long 
period  ? 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  were 
the  feelings,  what  were  the  thoughts,  of  the 
six  hundred  and  eighty-two  delegates  who 
met  together  on  April  8th,  1913,  in  the  Chung 
Yi  Yuan  at  Peking  to  celebrate  the  opening 
of  China's  first  Parliament.  That  year  was, 
for  China,  what  1295  was  for  the  British 
people. 

True,  there  were  no  barons  nor  prelates, 
but  there  were  Chinese  citizens  from  the  city, 
and  burgesses  from  the  Chinese  borough. 
The  President  himself  was  not  present,  but 
the  outward  form  of  Parliamentary  respecta- 
bility was.  Though  these  Chinese  M.P.'s  were 
so  far  from  having  even  the  first  instincts  of 
self-government,  they  did  not  forget  to  wear 
frock-coats,  top-hats,  and  badly-cut  trousers. 
That  there  were  clever  brains  amongst  them 
cannot  be  denied,  but  there  was  also  some- 
thing incongruous  and  almost  Gilbertian  about 
the  whole  inaugural  affair. 

That  incongruous  and  Gilbertian  something 
has  clung  religiously  to  all  their  Parliamentary 
proceedings  ever  since.  About  everything  they 
do  the  whiff  of  the  comic  opera  is  strong. 
When  Hsiung  Hsi  Ling  rises  to  make  a 
speech,  we  almost  expect  to  hear  him  say  of 

297 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

Sir  John  Jordan  or  of  Mr.  Hillier,  "  I  have 
got  him  on  the  Hst.  I  am  sure  he  won't  be 
missed."  But,  unfortunately,  many  a  pro- 
minent Chinese  man  has  found  little  that  was 
comic  and  a  great  deal  of  stern  reality  in 
being  placed  on  the  Chinese  Government's 
proscribed  list. 

It  is,  however,  pleasant  to  record  that 
progress  is  being  made  in  certain  important 
directions.  For  some  of  this  progress  for- 
eigners are  responsible,  and  some  of  our 
British  ladies  deserve  high  praise.  Mrs.  Archi- 
bald Little  and  others  of  her  sex  are  doing 
good  work  in  helping  to  give  the  Chinese 
girl  a  chance  of  education  oversea.  These 
ladies  are  real  friends  to  Young  China.  They 
recognize  that  a  Chinese  family,  however 
progressive  its  instincts  may  be,  cannot  have 
much  opportunity  of  selecting  good  European 
schools  or  of  looking  after  its  daughters  during 
holidays  in  England.  Accordingly,  Mrs.  Archi- 
bald Little  and  her  friends  have  saddled 
themselves  with  the  task  of  attending  to 
these  matters. 

In  addition  to  this,  certain  big  engineering 
firms  in  Britain  are  preparing  to  give  Chinese 
youths  a  technical  training  in  their  workshops. 
They  have  realized  that  a  young  engineer 
who  returns  to  China  after  receiving  his 
training  in  England  is  more  likely  to  turn 
to  the  country  and  to  the  firm  which  schooled 

298 


CONCLUSION 

him  when  he  has  to  order  material  and 
machinery  from  abroad. 

We  are  almost  tempted  to  wonder  whether 
this  little  beginning  in  Anglo-Chinese  co- 
operation is  not  capable  of  great  extension. 
Would  it  not  be  possible  to  form  a  society 
to  be  called  "  The  Friends  of  China  "  to  give 
Chinese  youths  a  commercial  education  in 
England  as  well  ?  This  would  enable  China 
to  do  without  the  middleman,  and  it  would 
bring  British  manufacturers  into  closer  touch 
with  respectable  Chinese  firms.  The  writer 
of  this  book  would  gladly  assist  to  start  such 
a  society,  but  a  move  must  first  be  made  by 
our  manufacturing  princes  themselves. 

In  England,  society  is  divided  into  three 
classes — those  who  change  their  dress  for 
dinner,  those  who  do  not,  and  those  who  get 
no  dinner.  In  China  there  are  four  classes — 
merchants,  farmers,  officials,  and  robbers. 
Each  of  these  classes  pursues  the  same  quarry, 
for  each  of  these  classes  is  engaged  in  the  same 
occupation — namely,  the  acquirement  of 
wealth.  But  they  seek  this  desired  wealth  in 
different  ways.  They  also  make  war  upon  one 
another  in  different  ways. 

At  Peking  we  find  not  only  men  of  the  new 
school  seeking  for  government  appointments 
and  struggling  for  power,  but  expectant  Tao- 
tais  and  relics  of  old  Chinese  mandarinism 
may   also   be   seen   trying   to   come   back   in 

299 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

order  that  they  may  draw  handsome  salaries 
for  leading  an  idle  life. 

Unlike  England  and  America,  China  has 
never  been  officialled  by  men  who  are  engaged 
in  industry.  On  the  contrary,  Chinese  officials 
have  been  just  officials  and  nothing  more. 
Consequently,  they  have  been  a  parasite  class, 
living  apart  from  the  interests  of  their  country, 
and  from  the  betterment  of  their  own  char- 
acters. They  may,  perhaps,  know  that  China 
can  never  become  great  and  strong  until  her 
exports  exceed  her  imports,  but  if  they  know 
this  fact,  it  is  only  through  academic  learning, 
not  through  life- interests  which  lie  in  the 
trouser-pocket. 

In  England  and  America  many  of  the  great 
officers  of  State  are  also  the  captains  of 
industry.  These  men  feel  the  effects  of  a 
strike  or  an  agitation,  because  their  private 
interests  are  concerned  therewith.  They  enter 
public  life  in  order  that  they  may  further  those 
interests,  no  doubt,  but  they  can  never  become 
idle  parasites,  because  the  industry  upon  which 
their  bread  and  butter  depends  forbids  laziness. 

In  China,  unfortunately,  things  are  very 
different.  Of  course,  Chinese  industry  is  only 
just  crawling  out  of  the  revolutionary  chrysalis, 
and  in  fifty  years'  time  this  state  of  affairs 
will  have  greatly  altered,  but  at  present  the 
need  of  industrial  interests  in  official  life  is 
more  than  a  little  marked. 

300 


CONCLUSION 

It  is  reported  that  the  Premier,  Hsiung  Hsi 
Ling,  is  doing  his  best  to  abolish  sinecures 
and  other  over-paid  offices  in  his  Finance 
Department.  Whether  he  will  succeed  or 
not  in  this  reform  remains  to  be  seen.  It  is 
easier  to  formulate  schemes  of  this  sort  in 
China  than  to  carry  them  out,  because  China's 
wheels  are  still  clogged  by  a  conservative  rust 
of  over  four  thousand  years.  But  all  these 
beginnings  are  a  move  in  the  right  direction, 
and  every  one  of  them  brings  the  daybreak 
of  China's  industrial  future  a  little  bit  nearer 
to  pass. 

All  is  still  night  in  the  land,  but  a  few 
faint  streaks  of  the  coming  morn  may  be 
seen  on  the  eastern  horizon.  One  by  one 
the  rosy  shafts  of  enlightenment  will  gradually 
shoot  up  to  the  skies.  The  gentle  breath  of 
an  educational  wind  can  already  be  felt  as  it 
rustles  over  the  corn-lands  of  secluded  Chinese 
provinces.  The  ancestral  spirits  of  the  village 
graveyard  are  beginning  to  feel  uneasy.  With 
to-morrow's  dawn  they  will  have  to  make 
way  for  the  factory,  for  the  loom,  and  the 
railway-track.  The  mists  of  war  and  revolu- 
tion which  now  hang  heavy  over  the  landscape 
will  soon  begin  to  raise  their  gloomy  shrouds 
as  sunshine  supervenes.  The  soul  of  the 
nation  is  coming  to  life.  China's  awakening 
is  nearly  at  hand.  It  will  not  be  a  military 
awakening  of  the  kind  "  yellow-peril  "  writers 

301 


FORCES  MINING  AND  UNDERMINING  CHINA 

have  foreshadowed  in  worthless  old-fashioned 
books.  Neither  will  naval  power  find  a  place 
in  this  coming  day. 

It  will  be  a  commercial  and  industrial  sun- 
rise which  is  going  to  regenerate  the  Chinese 
man  and  invigorate  the  Chinese  national  soul. 
There  used  to  be  an  old  prophecy  in  China 
that  as  the  Ming  Dynasty  came  to  an  end 
when  the  temples  were  restored,  so  the  Ch'ing 
Dynasty  would  come  to  an  end  when  the 
roads  were  put  in  order.  If,  by  roads,  the 
old  seers  meant  railroads,  then  there  is  more 
truth  in  the  prophecy  than  at  first  sight 
appears.  The  Ch'ing  Dynasty  did  fall  as 
Dr.  Sun  Yat  Sen  came  to  preach  his  railway 
gospel  to  the  Chinese  people.  Dr.  Sun  Yat 
Sen  did  preach  that  gospel  in  every  part  of 
China,  and  a  great  interest  in  railway  enter- 
prise has  been  the  direct  result.  Upon  that 
enterprise  Chinese  industrialism  directly  de- 
pends, and  as  such  big  strides  have  already 
been  made,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  break 
of  China's  rosy  industrial  day  cannot  be  far 
off. 


Printed  ly  Saxell,  Watson  <fc   Viney,  Ld.,  London  and  AyUibury,  England. 


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